The Future They Opened
by ksmurf
Summary: Their Future Part I: It has been several months since the Heavens and the Lower World came together. Now Munto has the task of leading the reconciliation efforts between the two worlds. But before that, there are some preparations he must make - preparations that involve Yumemi. MuntoxYumemi
1. Possible Future

**Chapter 1 - A Possible Future**

* * *

It was just before I began my last year in middle school that the world was saved from complete destruction. That was also when I found the courage to believe in myself and my own power. I learned that everything flows from the spirit; if you have the will and the strength to protect those that you love, your spirit will shine brightly and anything becomes possible.

At that time, the Heavens were descending onto Earth and the subsequent collision would have annihilated both the Heavenly Beings and the humans living in the Lower World. Munto, the ruler from the Magical Kingdom in the Heavens, my two dearest friends, Ichiko and Suzume, and I joined our powers to give birth to a wonderful new world. The Heavens and Earth were saved, but the journey to true reconciliation and balance between our peoples has only just begun.

* * *

At the center of town was a plateau that had sprung forth from the earth when the pillar connecting the upper and lower worlds had been created. Delicate white strands of solidified akuto arced around the edge of the plateau.

Atop this plateau, Munto gazed out across Yumemi's town. He glanced up towards his kingdom, barely able to distinguish the floating island from the puffy white clouds that swirled beneath it. He shielded his eyes from the flares of the setting sun and smiled.

Only months ago the world was about to end, and now here he was, basking in an amber sunset of Earth. Both the Heavens and the Lower World had started to heal.

Today, parties representing Heavenly Beings and humans would be meeting for the first time to discuss the future. Although the meeting was billed as a social gathering, a glorified meet-and-greet, rulers from across the Heavens would be attendance.

Despite being the king that had helped bring about the salvation of the Heavenly Beings, Munto would not be among their number that day.

His absence would not go unnoticed by his fellow monarchs.

He smiled slightly. No doubt his right-hand man, Louie, was panicking. Well, if a representative from the Magical Kingdom was needed, there was always the Lady Prophetess, Ryuely.

The young king clenched his fist tightly and his smiled faded as he turned his gaze downwards to the peaceful town below. Soon, his freedom would disappear; he would no longer be able to escape the political intrigues that were sure to follow today's conference. The young king would need his wits about him, and all the strength he could muster.

Before facing those challenges, there were some special preparations that he absolutely had to do.

Relaxing his fist, he looked at a small, golden ring nestled in his palm. Remembering his objective, a small smile returned to his face. Munto put the ring in his pocket and then jumped down from the plateau, gliding down to his final destination.

* * *

"Yumemi, don't fall asleep in the bath!"

The fifteen-year-old jerked awake and called in response, "I'm not asleep, Mama!" She stretched her neck, which had started to ache from her uncomfortable sleeping position.

It had been an exhausting day – the first of many as a third year in middle school. Since the only thing on the agenda was the entrance ceremony to welcome new and returning students, everyone had been released before lunchtime.

She had gone over to Ichiko's house with Suzume to enjoy tea and snacks to celebrate. There would not be many more opportunities to relax as the arduous task of preparing for entrance exams began.

Surely she was entitled to a little daydream, wasn't she? Yumemi sighed.

Munto had once again graced her dreams, very much in the same way that he had since they first made contact during the spring of her first year. Each vision of the red-haired king came with poignant emotions, as strong as if the feelings were her very own.

Today's vision was no different: the young heavenly being was sitting atop the pillar acropolis in the center of town. His emotions had been a whirlwind of anxiety and resolve. But, there had been flashes of warm happiness, especially as he looked at a ring in his hand.

Getting out of the bath, she looked at her neatly folded clothes and the gold ring laid on top. Too big for her, it was laced through a golden chain that she wore around her neck under her clothing.

She received the ring from Munto on the day they had built the pillar together. Together with Suzume and Ichiko, she reminded herself.

He had pressed the golden ring into her hand, paired with sincere words of gratitude. His caring grin completely disarmed the young maiden, making her heart pound and her face flush.

Remembering his strong grip and his even stronger gaze, fixing her into place, a blush crept across her cheeks and she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

The king was very with political matters. She had her own concerns to worry about – entrance exams and her career survey sheet. Now was not the time to get carried away. She had Munto were friends – just friends. Very close friends, but still, just friends.

"Yumemi?" Her mother's voice drifted down the hall. "You have a visitor?"

She paused in the middle of dressing. Her mother was usually very steadfast. It was rare to hear uncertainty and confusion in her tone.

Quickly throwing on the rest of her clothes, she tried to wring the water from her hair at the same time. Her hair was still damp, with little water droplets dripping from the ends, as she quickly walked down the hall.

"Mama, who is it?" Then she stopped in her tracks.

In the middle of the very small living room, stood his royal highness, king of the Heavenly Magical Kingdom.

She blinked a few times lest her eyes deceived her. But no, the image remained, his elongated form towering above her parents.

He turned his smiling face to her, causing her heart to twinge in all sorts of mysterious ways.

"Yumemi." Munto walked over to her, took her by the hand and led her back to her parents, who were gaping in rapt awe. "Won't you introduce _ore-sama_ to your parents?"

A look of surprise flashed over her father's face. There might be trouble brewing soon if this strange, but handsome man, kept referring to himself as _ore-sama_ : 'the great me'. Her father was already recovering from the initial shock of having a visitor from another world and started shifting his weight into a stance known by fathers and daughters everywhere as the 'What are your intentions towards my daughter?' pose.

Luckily, her mother was much faster on the uptake and jumped in to salvage the situation before it came to blows. "So you are Munto-sama, the person who helped keep the floating islands from crashing into our town?"

Munto nodded sincerely. "Your daughter was of great service at that time."

He turned to face Yumemi again. "I must ask for your assistance once more, if you will hear me out."

Her face immediately flushed.

"Your father and I will be down the hall. You know where the tea and snacks are." Her mother forcefully ushered Mr. Hidaka away from the young couple. Muffled words of protestation filtered down the hall.

Yumemi smiled and then looked up at Munto, who had adopted a grave countenance. Instantly, any embarrassment that she felt before melted away as worry settled into her heart.

He rubbed his thumb gently over the back of her hand. He shifted on his feet, took a deep breath, and let it out shakily. But he remained silent; his anxiety and uncertainty hung in the air. To be so discomposed was unlike the proud and assertive king.

"What is it?" Yumemi took his other hand in her own. "If there is any way that I can lend you my power, I will be happy to."

These words of encouragement appeared to give him the push that he needed and he began slowly. "Yumemi, you are a very important person to me. Without your power, this current future that we live in could not have been opened. You have a strong spirit that shines brightly."

Her breath caught in her throat, leaving her a little lightheaded. Surely even the man before her could hear the rapid beat of her heart and feel the heat spreading through her fingers.

Munto looked down at their entwined hands before raising his head and locking his gaze with hers. "There are troubling times ahead as our countries, as our worlds learn to live together once again. I will need your light to help guide me as I guide my country and all of the Heavens out of the darkness."

His grip on her hands grew tighter as the rest of the words tumbled out. "Yumemi, come to my palace. Be by my side."

Frozen in shock, she was unable to form a reply.

He had just proposed, hadn't he? Granted, the Heavens probably had differences when it came to the institution of marriage, so she couldn't be sure. But if this was a proposal, did that mean that he wanted to marry her and for both of them to live together at the palace?

Maybe she was jumping to conclusions and he didn't mean it that way.

"Do you mean as an advisor?" She asked, feeling silly almost as soon as the words left her mouth, for she already knew the answer.

His expression didn't change. "No, Yumemi. I want you to be my life partner."

Thousands of questions and concerns bubbled in her mind, creating a cacophony in her heart. Yet, her answer rang out clear and true.

"Munto, I can't."

The confusion and disappointment showed in his eyes and she carefully explained. "I have many things that I need to do here. I need to go to school and take my entrance exams. I need to go to high school and figure out what I want to do with my life. I want to spend time getting to know my classmates and do the things that other children my age do. I cannot leave that behind - not yet."

She remembered her mother's words about children and responsibility. "Whether I like it or not, I am still a child. I have only just learned how to protect my own spirit and to have confidence in my own strength. I am not ready to bear the responsibility of protecting and supporting another."

Munto released a great exasperated sigh, but looked down at her fondly, his smile was somewhat melancholy. "I had a feeling you might say that."

He led her over to the sofa and they both sunk into the soft, white cushions. Letting go of her hands, he asked, "Do you have the ring I gave you a few months ago?"

Alarm flooded through her system. Was he asking for the ring back? Was he preparing to cut ties with her?

Still, she reached for her collar and pulled out the ring, which dangled from its delicate golden chain. She attempted to unclasp the necklace, but it got tangled in her hair.

"Allow me."

He leaned forward, bracing her against his chest as he carefully freed the strands of hair. The last time she had been pressed against him, she had seen visions of the Heaven's past. No visions this time - just the dull thud of his heartbeat.

Munto pulled away the chain and dropped the ring into one of his hands. Then he reached into his pocket and produced a second ring. He held up the first ring with great solemnity.

"This is the symbol of the king in my country. My father gave me this ring when he returned to the akuto. Tradition dictates that I should have forged my own ring when I ascended to the throne, but I was much too young then."

He held it up between his index finger and thumb, letting the light glint off the gilded surface. "I now have the ability to forge my own ring, but I would like to continue using my father's ring as I lead my country and my people."

His hand dropped slowly to his lap and he looked at it fondly before meeting Yumemi's gaze again.

"I gave this ring to you as a token of my sincerest appreciation for the help you gave me. But now, I would like to propose an exchange."

He held up the second ring, the one that had appeared in her vision. This second ring was made of woven golden threads that looked like they might disintegrate if touched.

"This ring belonged to my mother. It is the only tangible memento I have of her. It is extremely precious to me and I would like you to have it, as a token of not just my appreciation, but as a token of my affection as well." He took one of her hands and carefully pressed the ring into her palm.

"I know that you have a life here that you want to protect, but I would like it if you could accept this ring." He gave her a bit of an awkward smile. "Think of it as my way of opening a new future, a possible future. If you decide that you cannot see yourself in that future, you may return the ring and I will harbor no ill will."

Yumemi contemplated his words carefully, trying to ignore the giddiness welling up inside of her.

Regardless of what Munto might say, the return of such a gift - and all the accompanying implications - would be a painful experience for both of them. Right now, her future was unlimited with opportunities. Committing to a relationship with royalty was not a trivial act: it could pose a threat to some of the many futures open to her.

As much as her heart wanted to her to proclaim yes, there was one more thing she needed to check.

"Munto." He looked at her in honest seriousness. "Let me see into your heart."

He seemed a little taken aback, but then he smiled softly. "That is your way, isn't it?" He placed the rings next to them on the sofa and then reached out to embrace her, nestling her softly against his chest.

Yumemi closed her eyes as his emotions washed over her. There was a hint of sadness that Yumemi had not immediately accepted his proposal, but the overwhelmingly dominant emotions were unclouded resolve and warm affection. Yumemi could tell that he had no expectations of a promise. She could feel his love and desire to protect her overflowing into her mind.

She opened her eyes and slowly broke from the embrace. Munto met her eyes once more, searching for an answer.

"Will you accept it?"

Yumemi smiled. "I will."

* * *

 **A/N:** This story is based on the anime version of Munto - _Sora o Miageru Shōjo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai_. Some details were taken from the closing and post-closing in Episode 9 (Yumemi starting school, the ring).

I love this anime and I suddenly felt inspired to write about Yumemi and Munto post-anime. The story is a bit on the shorter side, but longer than a one shot.

Let me know what you think!

 _Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release._


	2. Future Together

**Chapter 2 - A Future Together**

* * *

The day that Yumemi accepted my mother's ring was one of the happiest in my memory. I could not explain why, for she had rejected my proposal to spend our lives together. Perhaps it was simply knowing that a union was a future open to us gave me the courage to withstand the long months that were to follow.

Lady Ryuely had said that this future would require patience and perseverance. But after three longs months of debating with my fellow rulers as they tried to reform an alliance and being locked in conversation with representatives from Yumemi's world, I found my strength faltering. As the seasons on the planet below changed from spring to summer, my desire to see her once more began to grow.

* * *

Yumemi found herself with nothing to do.

It was the end of summer break; Suzume was out with Kazuya on a date, Ichiko was on a trip with her dad to the mountains, almost all of the homework was finished, and there was only so much studying that a third year student could do before the brain started to melt.

Her mother had kicked her out of the house - apparently summer was no time to be sitting in air-conditioning and watching the television. Yumemi begged to differ, but she didn't have much of a choice.

With no clear destination in mind, she started to walk aimlessly toward the center of town. Her white sundress flowed around her in the wind and she held onto the straw hat that was the only thing protecting her from becoming a burnt tomato.

As she walked, her train of thought drifted to Munto.

In her recent visions, she could see him becoming haggard from the constant bickering between all the different parties who had an interest in the floating islands. Worry as she might, she could see that the young ruler was enduring it the best he could.

She smiled to herself, thinking about the proud Munto-sama, great ruler of the Magical Kingdom, battle-hardened magician, practicing diplomacy and the fine art of small talk.

Despite being the one who set the boundaries on their relationship, sometimes she wished that she could see him. It was very easy to recall the heat of their last embrace, when she listened to his internal emotions. Once in a while, it would be nice to feel that again.

Maybe one day. One day she would walk right up to the plateau, fly to the Magical Kingdom, and visit Munto.

One day when she wasn't studying. Or busy with her friends. Or at her part-time job at the shrine. Or doing homework. Or going to school.

She stopped. TODAY she wasn't studying. Or with her friends, at her part time job, doing homework, or going to school. There was nothing stopping her from visiting today.

Feeling the excitement build in her chest, Yumemi began to run down to the plateau. Sure, she would need to find a way to get up to the floating island, but she would think of something.

After all, she'd flown once before, hadn't she?

* * *

"Munto, please review this document before our next meeting."

Louie strode into the royal chamber with his blue cape flowing behind him and dropped a hefty roll of parchment on the stone table.

"This is the proposal from the Lower World's Japanese Defense Force to provide military support in the Magical Kingdom Airspace. The military representatives will be present in the meeting and have already expressed a wish to discuss this."

"Thank you, Louie." Munto did not even look up from the current piece of legislature that he was reviewing. "I will look at it soon."

Louie gave a bow and left, closing the heavy wooden doors behind him.

Sighing, Munto looked at the stack of paperwork that needed to be reviewed and proceeded to grab Louie's document next, since the meeting was within the hour. Diving right into the matter, the piece of parchment held his attention.

He failed to notice the silver akuto doll that usually rested right outside his window, make a sudden departure.

There was a knock with military precision at the door. "My Lord, it is time for your meeting with the Lower World Defense Force."

"Thank you." Munto pushed himself away from his desk and walked briskly to the door, his black coat swirling about him. He sighed once again, but then let himself out of the room and headed to the military meeting.

Which was just as bad as he thought it would be.

The Japanese Defense Force was offering aircraft for patrols in the Magical Kingdom airspace. The Magical Kingdom was the only floating country located over land mass - primarily over Japan. The military claimed that other countries, such as "America", "China", and "Russia" would target the Magical Kingdom, as it was the closest and also posed a potential threat.

All of the Heavenly advisors and ministers argued that no such patrols would be necessary - the mages of the country would be able to defend against any incoming armed forces.

Munto then listened as the Defense Force counter-argued that the Magical Kingdom's existence was a threat, since the Defense Force was no longer allowed to fly near the country. This posed a security risk for the people within the towns below, as they would no longer have access to flying resources.

For the most part, he had very little to say during these meetings with the people of the Lower World. He was still a relatively inexperienced ruler, but he took vigilant notes that he would review with his trusted advisors later.

But today, he was feeling particularly on edge for some reason and he snapped.

"Rather than go around in circles, let's cut to the chase." He looked pointedly at the Defense Force members. "I believe we have made it clear that we of the Magical Kingdom will be able to defend ourselves, therefore your patrols are not required. Furthermore, introducing foreign vehicles into the skies around our country will only cause undue stress on the citizens of this nation."

One of the Defense Force generals started to protest, but he was immediately shot down. "If you require access to the airspace around this country for the purposes of providing emergency support to the town below, then my ministers will be happy to assist in drafting up some legislature to facilitate those actions."

The general continued to vocally protest and this time, there was no holding back.

"Do not insult my intelligence. I may be young, but most of my experience lays on the battlefield. I can see when someone is trying to get a military foothold into a region. Whether you are attempting to do so as leverage against us or against the other countries you have mentioned does not matter to me. There will be no air patrols around the Magical Kingdom, unless of course you grant us the right to run ground patrols in the town so that we may have regular surveillance for potential threats."

This comment left the entire conference in silence, except for the human general who was still sputtering in anger. Hearing no further arguments, he stood. "I believe this concludes the meeting for today. I look forward to speaking with you all next time."

Then he stormed out of the room.

As soon as the doors closed behind him, he ran his hands down his face in exasperation.

That was poorly handled and he knew it. What was the matter with him today? His ability to play the game of saying one thing and meaning another did not come easily to him, but he was usually capable enough to keep his mouth closed and leave the gameplay to his ministers.

There were more meetings to attend to, but he would be of no use in this state. He slowly made his way to Ryuely's temple on the edge of the palace. Visiting the calm and tranquil prophetess would surely help sooth his nerves.

He made his way up through the central staircase, a winding tree with large leaves that served as stairs. The leaves spiraled up through a glass dome to the rest of the outer palace grounds.

He felt better the minute he stepped into the sunshine, but his mood remained dark and troubled. He trudged up the stone steps. At the entrance to the temple grounds, he saw the silver akuto doll crouched, with its wings unfurled. He stopped to pat the creature.

"So this is where you got to." He rubbed the creature's front gem. "I see that at least you were able to escape your cage. Some of us aren't as fortunate."

Laughter filtered down from the main temple grounds. It was not uncommon for the hospitable Lady Ryuely to receive guests from the other seven heavenly countries.

"Thank you for providing the food. I was quite hungry."

If she was serving food, then her guest must be from the Lower World, since Heavenly Beings did not eat. There was no denying that the humans were enchanted by the ethereal ways of Lady Ryuely. But, there were only so many Lower World inhabitants he could stand in a day. Perhaps he would return to his room and prepare for the next meeting.

"What does that one taste like?" This time Toche was curiously inquiring.

Munto paused; it was surprising to hear Ryuely's little assistant being so lively around strangers, especially humans from Earth. And yet, here he was being friendly, as though he had met the visitor before.

"How do I describe it to you when you have not tasted anything before?"

Now his heart leapt into his throat. He recognized that voice - he would recognize it anywhere.

He hurried up the stairs, two at a time and then stopped when he reached the top. There, at a small stone table, was Toche picking strangely shaped fruits from a bowl. The person sitting across was…

"Yumemi," Munto whispered.

Afraid that the dream would end if he spoke any louder. He rubbed his eyes to verify they weren't playing tricks on him.

A gust of wind ruffled her white sundress and blew off her straw hat. The hat tumbled through the air, coming to rest at the young king's feet. Toche had jumped up to retrieve the flighty headwear, but froze when he saw who had caught the troublesome hat.

Yumemi was laughing and then her eyes met with his. She stood and took a few steps forward. "Ah, Munto!" She looked around, as though uncertain as to what to say. "I didn't have anything to do today, so I-"

He cut her off as he ran to her and swept her into a giant hug. He held her up off the ground so her head was close to his. Feeling a rush of joy, he buried his face into her caramel-colored hair and he whispered her name again. His happiness intensified as he felt her arms circle around the back of his head and she murmured his name as well.

"Munto, I've missed you."

With those four words, he felt complete. Everything was finally right in the world and so he said nothing and just held in his arms the one thing he wanted to protect the most.

They stayed like that for several minutes, just enjoying the warmth of the sunlight, the slight breeze, and their closeness to one another. Eventually, Munto realized that he would have to let go of the girl in his arms, so he slowly put Yumemi on the ground, but did not move his arms away from her.

She looked up at him with sparkling eyes and a small smile on her lips. Suddenly, he felt compelled to be closer, to show her exactly how much he had missed her. He leaned down, bringing his face right next to hers, letting their breath mingle in the shrinking space between them. The young girl closed her eyes in anticipation and he could feel his heart racing.

"Munto-sama!"

He looked up with mild annoyance over the top of Yumemi's head, but held her against his chest, helping to hide her red face and wide eyes until she could settle down from the sudden outburst.

Several of his loyal retainers were at the top of the stairs. Marty and Tail enthusiastically approached, while Harka followed at a steady pace.

"What is it?"

Tail walked forward, his brown robes aflutter, with the slightly rotund Marty just behind him. "We need to make a report about a space-time anomaly."

This drew all of Munto's attention, and he walked over to meet them, keeping Yumemi's hand tightly clasped in his. "What space-time anomaly?"

Marty began to explain, "It was discovered on The Day of the Future. For the past few months it has been - oh my, if it isn't the princess!"

Tail also moved in closer, "My Lady, we did not know you would be visiting!"

From slightly behind Munto, Yumemi smiled and gave a little wave. Munto moved forward to confront both retainers. "What about the anomaly?"

Marty cleared his throat and continued. "Ahem! As I was saying, it was discovered on The Day of the Future. Since then it has been dormant - reacting to nothing, with no physical changes."

"Today," Harka cut in assuredly, "it began to discharge energy as lightning. In the past few hours, the strikes have increased in strength and frequency. The anomaly itself has also started to grow in size."

"Take us there," their king commanded. All three retainers looked hesitantly at Yumemi, but time was of the essence. "Quickly!"

"Yes, sir!" They all headed down the stairs to the main part of the palace.

When they reached the edge of the palace walls, Munto paused. He bent down slightly and held out his arms to his beloved. "Now, we fly. Come, Yumemi."

With her slight frame braced against him, they took to the sky, floating with Marty, Tail, and Harka to the edge of the city.

Any time-space anomaly could be potentially dangerous. Heavenly Beings would become cursed if they manipulated space-time. Luckily, the Outsider Gass had taken the brunt of the space-time curse instead of the young king when Gntarl had tried to abduct Yumemi's town.

Now there were no outsiders to prevent Heavenly Beings from breaking through space-time, but the threat of the curse kept them at bay.

Looking down at the young girl in his arms, he felt a slight uneasiness.

She was the sole person from the Lower World that had demonstrated the ability to break through time-space. While she seemed to suffer no ill effects from that particular brand of magic, he was not willing to take any unnecessary chances.

"Munto-sama, here it is!" The three retainers dropped down the ground as he landed and let Yumemi slide out of his arms.

The distortion was a black, amorphous blob, in constant, shifting motion. The surface was slick, with a blue sort of luminesce, like oil. White electricity rippled on the outside, striking out at any nearby object. The lightning produced a sharp, crackling noise as each strike landed.

Munto moved Yumemi behind him, in the event of a stray lightning bolt. "What is it?" she asked softly.

"It is an abnormality in the space-time continuum." He gestured for her to stay put. "Not quite a hole to another dimension, but not from this dimension either."

The lightning subsided and he took the opportunity to take a closer look. The anomaly started to hum, although it could have also been a buzzing noise.

"Munto," The girl's voice was laced with worry. He did not need to be told twice.

"Everyone, back away. I think it's going to-"

Lightning arced everywhere, strong electrical strikes landing on every square inch. The air was singed with heat, obliterating all traces of moisture.

There was no time. Munto grabbed Yumemi and forced her onto the floor, shielding her with his body.

A second later, pain shot up his back and then spread throughout his body. Every muscle clenched and each cell screamed in agony as the electricity surged up and down his spine. The clothing on his back was hot, burning hot, but he stayed still, covering her.

From his position on the floor, he struggled to raise an arm. Red energy gathered around his palm. He fired shot after shot of energy blasts at the space-time entity.

The lightning started to die down and Munto was able to raise up enough to aim properly. He maintained constant firepower on the space-time blob, and slowly, but surely, the space-time abnormality started to fade away.

Within a minute, only some minor flecks floating in the air were all that remained. Using the last of his energy, he created some fire and these remnants went up in smoke.

With the threat handled, he allowed himself to drop to his knees. Yumemi ran up to support him. "Munto!" Weary from the attack, he leaned against the girl.

"Call for…Sheza…" he managed to say through gritted teeth.

"This is…more damage…than I can…heal on…my own." He was breathing hard and heavy as Yumemi relayed his instructions to Marty and Tail. His two retainers made off with great haste to summon the healer. Harka stayed behind in case there were further instructions.

Munto was vaguely aware that she was looking over the wounds on his back, and he could feel her shaking slightly. "I wish there was something I could do for you. It looks so painful."

"As long…as you…are safe…" Munto smiled tiredly, but then he grimaced as a wave of pain washed over him. Blackness crept in at the corner of his vision and stole away his consciousness.

* * *

 **A/N:** Here's chapter 2. The tempo will start to pick up next time.

Let me know what you think!

 _Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release._


	3. Troubled Future

**Chapter 3 - A Troubled Future**

* * *

Despite assurances from the royal healer, Sheza, that there were no ill-effects from the attack of the space-time distortion, I could not qualm the clouds swirling in my heart. By the end of the day, the king showed no signs of waking from his deep and uneasy sleep. Throughout the afternoon I watched him grimace as he dozed and occasionally wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

I would need to return home soon for dinner and so I prayed that he would open his eyes before the sun had set.

* * *

"Munto, I have to leave now." In an inky darkness, he could make out the figure of his love, shining. Yumemi turned to face him with a wistful expression on her face. "Good-bye, Munto."

"Wait! Don't go!" He reached out to grab her arm, but she dissolved into a vortex of glimmering lights that shimmered and faded away.

"Yumemi!" Munto sat up in bed, breathing heavily, heart pounding, looking around wildly for any sign of the girl. At first glimpse he saw nothing beyond his room: stone floor, wooden latticework by the windows, embroidered fabrics hanging from the walls, with plants scattered throughout.

As his eyes roved around the room, he found her, standing at his bedside. Healthy. Whole. Just Yumemi.

She smiled and began to say something, but he could no longer hold back.

He reached out once again and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Crushing her against his chest, he tried to sooth his hard heartbeats.

Although she was initially stiff from surprise, Munto felt her soften. With her physical proximity to his heart, no doubt she had seen the raw emotions coursing through his mind and sensed his need for tranquility. Her small arms looped around his back, completing the link that encircled them both, trapping them in their own world.

"Munto?" She asked quietly after a few minutes.

Pulling away from her slightly, the young man responded. "I am sorry for startling you. I had a bad dream."

Her laughter cut through the tension, forcing his tightly wound emotions to slowly uncurl. "Thank goodness! Sheza said that you were alright, but you were sleeping so fitfully and I was worried that I would need to leave before your woke."

"Need to leave?" One look out of the window confirmed that the last few rays of light were fading for the day. "Your curfew?" he asked worriedly.

The girl smiled wistfully; remembering his recent dream, a pang ran through his heart. She was not disappearing from his life, but shaking the anxiety from his thoughts was proving difficult.

"I do need to hurry home, but I am happy that I got to see you wake up." Relief was written all over her face.

"Let me take you home." Munto started getting out of bed, but Yumemi pushed him back down with a frown on her face.

"No you don't!" She scolded him with a finger pointed in his direction. "You were just attacked by a strange thing that we don't understand and then you were asleep for eight hours! You will stay in bed."

She grabbed her bag. "I will ask _Akuto-san_ to take me home and then I will come back tomorrow."

" _Akuto-san_?" The young ruler was trying to cope with having been pushed down onto his bed by a very pretty girl, and then promptly chastised as though he was a small child.

"Yes. _Akuto-san_. The akuto doll with wings. He was so kind as to bring me here this morning. I got the sense that it would be no trouble for him to bring me home." She blushed. "After all, my attempts at flying haven't met with great success."

Munto suddenly found himself overwhelmed with exhaustion; maybe she had a point. He _had_ dispersed a distortion in the space-time reality, hadn't he? Stubbornly trying to ignore the sleep that was creeping back on him, he offered once more to take her home.

"I told you, I am fine." She brushed her hand against his cheek. "Rest for now. I will return."

Trying to hide his pout, the ruler of the Magical Kingdom and bringer of salvation to the Heavens allowed himself to be tucked into bed by a teenage human girl and was lulled to sleep.

It wasn't until sometime later that his eyes snapped open. "What does she mean her attempts at flying haven't met with great success?!"

* * *

Despite fulfilling her promise to return, Yumemi was unable to see Munto. As king, his schedule was completely packed - a problem that was only compounded by the time he had spent away from that schedule dealing with the time-space anomaly and subsequently recovering. Louie had apologized to her repeatedly, but in the same breath left to usher his lord to the next conference meeting.

Each day, the middle-schooler returned to the Magical Kingdom, only to find its king engaged in matters of national importance. She happily passed the hours in the company of Lady Ryuely, Toche, Tail, Marty, and occasionally Harka, but her heart had started a slow, burning ache to see the one she was coming to treasure the most.

On the evening of the last day of summer vacation, after the akuto doll had returned her home, Yumemi sat at her desk in her part of the loft and sighed. It would have been good to see him at least once more before school started and she had to resume her entrance exam prep.

A rap against her bedside window startled her. She looked up to see Munto floating outside, knuckle against the glass.

Yumemi quickly jumped up from her desk and crawled over the top of her bed to unlock the window. "What are you doing here?" She whispered this query in her case parents or brother overheard.

"Come, Yumemi." He floated, extending his hands: an open embrace, an open invitation.

She silently slid outside her house and into his awaiting arms. He cradled her gently, with her head nestled under his chin.

The ground slowly started to fall away. "Where are we going?"

With a slight smirk, the Heavenly Being replied, "We are going to fly."

That was the last thing she heard as he accelerated and the wind started to whistle around her ears, hair whipping around her face. Higher and higher they climbed, faster and faster until Yumemi started to feel breathless. She scrunched her eyes and held on tight.

"Don't close your eyes, Yumemi!" Munto smiled with a childlike innocence, his red hair also being tossed around.

Following his order, she forced herself to watch as the lights in her town shrunk to small, twinkling dots against a dark, velvet landscape.

Without warning, the pair spun rapidly, still soaring higher into the skies, bringing them ever closer to the wispy, clouds that swirled around the moon. Flying with the akuto doll did not even begin to approach the wild sensation of blasting through air at breakneck speeds. Tears streamed down her face from the wind as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Then everything was still.

They drifted, basking in the moonlight, beneath the stars that glittered far above the floating islands of the Heavens. Down below, the town was serene, all of its citizens completely unaware of the couple, floating above their heads.

"Yumemi."

She looked up and into his eyes. Their gazes held and the hundreds of thoughts that raced through her mind each night as she tried to fall asleep now resurfaced. Did he feel the same way that she did about him? What exactly was she to him? Were they ready-

He leaned down and kissed her softly.

Her mind went blank.

When he pulled away, the warmth from his lips lingered, especially around the edge of her mouth where he had missed ever so slightly. Her senses and mind became aware of the world again: the cool air, the slight dampness of the clouds, the heat that was seeping through his form-fitting jacket. Her nerves tingled and her eyes were wide from surprise.

"Come live with me, at the palace."

In the spring, the answer to that request had come quickly and clearly. Now, months later, other thoughts threatened to upheave that resolute response. But she had made a promise: a promise to her friends, to her family, and most importantly, to herself.

Shaking her head, she gave him an equally serious response. "Munto, you know I can't do that."

At this he let out an exasperated sigh, his face and his shoulders sagging in mild defeat. He rallied himself admirably and looked her straight in the eye, a competitive glint shining through. "At least, not yet."

Suddenly the combined happiness and sheer silliness of the situation overwhelmed her. Here they were, thousands of feet in the air, her first kiss had come and gone in a blink of an eye, the man that she was almost certain she loved was attempting to propose to her again (sort of), and her parents had absolutely no idea.

Throwing her arms around his neck, she pulled herself in close, and giggled. "I think I love you."

"You think?" Mildly offended, he tried to extract himself from her grasp, but she maintained her death grip, trapping him in her arms. "Well, then I only think I love you too," he scoffed. He wasn't really upset, but he needed to put up a front - he was a king with a certain degree of pride, after all.

She ran her fingers through his red hair, momentarily surprised by the soft and silky texture. "Once I am done with school, I will think about your offer."

Another sigh from the young man. "Three and half years is a long time to wait."

Yumemi couldn't help but feel mischievous. "Three years? Munto, what if I want to go to college? That's another four years. And then graduate school? That might be another few years. All in all, I think it'll be about 10 years before I can really consider making a life with you."

This time he managed to pull himself back so he could see her face. Panic and confusion were rampant in his features as he tried to work out if she was joking or not.

To relieve his worries, she placed her hand against his cheek. "Even if I decide to go to college or graduate school, I will still seriously consider your offer once I graduate from high school. So, only three and half years." His relief was swift and he relaxed once again.

"You have the ring." This might have been a question if either of them thought there were a chance that she wouldn't have the ring on her at all times.

She reached into the neckline of her blouse and pulled out the gold chain that had once borne the ring of the old king, but now carried the ring of the previous queen. The delicate gold details seemed to glow in the light of the moon and stars.

He took the small piece of jewelry and cupped it in his palm. "My mother and father were bonded together using these rings. If you wear this ring on your finger, it will strengthen your connection with me - beyond any that we already have." A tiny tendril of red light snaked from her ring to the one around his finger. "The effect will only be pronounced if both rings are worn."

Smiling slightly, he dropped the chain and the red line between the rings disappeared. He held up his hand with his father's ring. "For my people, I wear the ring as a symbol of my lineage and my promise to them as a ruler." His eyes softened. "For you, I wear the ring for a different sort of promise, but I swear that I will always wear this ring."

Although there was no need for this sort of ceremony or solidified validation of the special attachment they had formed, Yumemi had always sensed that Munto needed tangible evidence of their future together. Back when their worlds were in danger of colliding, he had been terrified when the light joining their worlds vanished and he needed to take a giant leap of faith when a small human girl told him that the bridge was there, even if it was no longer visible.

But she was more than happy to provide these assurances to the man that she loved.

* * *

The journey back to Yumemi's house was serene and uneventful. Munto brought her back to her bedroom window and watched as she climbed back inside. As she finally left his side, he reached out to grasp her hand once more in his. He raised her hand and lightly brushed his lips against her knuckles before elegantly releasing her.

"Good night." With a slight bow and a smile, he started to fly back to his kingdom.

He was almost home when a whirlwind of emotion hit him all at once and he dropped several feet in freefall until he could get his bearings back. Gasping and trying to cope with the radiant happiness, warmth, affection, and love that was streaming into his heart, Munto took several deep breaths.

 _Good night, Munto_. A small voice echoed in his head as though the words had been spoken in his presence.

Just as soon as they had started, the flow of emotions ceased, leaving behind a bit of a hole. But the gap in the king's heart was quickly filled by the tide of excitement and joy that came with discovering that Yumemi had tried wearing his mother's ring.

Furthermore, he finally had confirmation that she did indeed love him. She was so quiet and gentle that he sometimes wondered if she was merely appeasing his dominant and selfish whims. He had been extremely nervous about kissing her, especially given that he had no prior experience with that sort of thing.

But strong, powerful feelings that had surged through the connection when she had worn the ring were just as big as his own.

The after-effects of the emotional transfer did not dissipate, even in the following days as the king once again resumed his duties. His countenance was markedly more cheerful, a change that was welcomed by Heavenly Beings and humans alike in the ongoing conferences and discussions.

This extraordinary transformation was of particular interest to his trusted vassals, who had long hoped that the impatient and short-tempered ruler would find someone who could provide stability and balance to his life.

"Do you think it is the princess?" Marty asked Tail as they sat around a courtyard table with Harka, Sheza, and Louie.

"There's no one else it could be, is there?" Tail responded. "The king hasn't exactly taken notice of any Heavenly girls."

"I doubt our lord would be happy to hear you gossiping about his love life," Louie said coolly with his arms crossed.

"And you are absolutely right, as usual."

All five spun around rapidly to find their lord and master, king of the Magical Kingdom, standing behind them with a bemused expression on his face. He raised a brow and leaned into their circle, placing his hands on the table.

"I am keenly interested to know what it is that you have been chattering about."

Then a wave of pain washed over him. He clutched at his side and crumbled onto the table.

* * *

Yumemi felt uneasy.

Throughout all her morning classes, she knew something was wrong. All of her sleeping or daydream visions of Munto had shown the king in best of health, going about his royal responsibilities. But she was unable to shake the sense that something was terribly and horribly wrong.

At the very start of the lunchtime break, before anyone else had a chance, she made her way to the rooftop of the school. She found a corner where she would not be interrupted or spied upon and slipped on her ring.

The first sensation was: pain. So much pain.

It flared up in her abdomen and traveled along her entire side. She curled into a little ball, but did not remove the ring - she needed to know: what was causing Munto this much pain?

 _Yumemi?_ Munto's voice, weak and strained, cut through the fire that was lacing through her body.

Before she could respond, the pain stopped. In fact, everything stopped. There was nothing.

She scrambled to her feet. She was still wearing her ring, so if the connection had ceased functioning, then the king or someone else had removed the other ring.

Unless there was another reason why Munto would no longer have any emotions to share across the link.

Without a second thought, she raced off the rooftop and down the stairs.

Please let him be safe!

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you so much for all your support and kind words so far! Please enjoy this new chapter and let me know what you think.

 _Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release._


	4. Future Apart

**Chapter 4 - A Future Apart**

* * *

Taking the stairs two at a time, she raced past Ichiko and Suzume, who had been making their way to the roof.

"Yumemi?" Ichiko called. "Where are you going?"

"I need to see Munto! Something is wrong!" She did not even pause as she shouted this over her shoulder.

She failed to see Ichiko trying to rush after her, only to be stopped by Suzume with a firm shake of the head and a small smile. She paid no heed to the shoe lockers and burst into the courtyard, still wearing her school slippers.

The silver akuto doll was already waiting.

Whatever mysterious power had called it forth, she didn't know, but she was eternally grateful that she could disembark for the Magical Kingdom immediately.

She jumped into its open hand and held on tightly as the gray wings unfurled and flapped, creating small sand dervishes in the front of the school. Students gathered by the school gates and the windows, gawking as the magical creature took flight.

The journey took only a few minutes and soon the pair was soaring about the courtyard at the topmost part of the Magical Kingdom. The doll dropped rapidly to make a steady landing and was still running the last few steps when Yumemi leaped from its outstretched hand to the ground. She staggered and then raced over to the group clustered around a table.

Marty and Tail rushed over to greet her, with Harka following a few paces back.

"Princess, we don't know what happened."

"He suddenly collapsed, my lady!"

Pushing her own fears aside, she took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. "Let me speak to the others," she said, each word projecting stability and patience.

She strode forward with steely resolve, determined to face whatever was in store for her head on.

Munto was motionless on the table. Unlike when he slept before, he was entirely still. No breath on his lips. No rise and fall of his chest. Her heart trembled to see his face, normally full of vibrant and colorful energy, now blank as if carved from stone and even slightly pale.

Sheza was frowning in concentration, sweat collecting on his brow as he kept a golden energy flowing over the body of his lord. He spared only glimpse to acknowledge her arrival.

"He is trying to ascertain what is causing Munto's condition, but we've had no luck thus far," Louie explained.

That was troubling. Yumemi turned to the blue-haired aide. "Has anything happened since he was attacked by that strange lightening?" He had been fine a few days ago when they last met, but that time under the moon and stars seemed so far away.

"Nothing. There is no hint as to what is causing the symptoms or what we need to do to cure him."

"I may be able to provide assistance in that regard." Lady Ryuely's calm and deep voice cut through the tension. The tall Heavenly being beckoned to the small human girl. "Come with me; I have something to show you."

Hesitating for only a moment, she got up to follow the prophetess over to the other side of the courtyard and up to the final set of steps to the Pool of Sight. The pool was a small fountain with a watery surface suspended in a golden oval. It was the same mirror that Yumemi had looked into as she prepared to forge a future for the world.

Now she looked into the crystalline water mirror at her own reflection. Seconds later her image dissolved into one of Munto, laying atop of the stone table, his face still, without any expression. Moments later, flecks of light began to drift away from him and his body began to disintegrate.

"This is-!" She had seen this before, the first time that she made contact with the rash king after he fell to the Lower World. Without access to Akuto, his body had been on the verge of disappearing altogether, when the human girl had managed to cut through the space-time continuum to deliver an abundance of Akuto energy to the Heavens, and his body had been restored.

"Yes." Ryueley confirmed her worst fears. "If nothing is done, the Akuto that comprises his physical form will dissipate and he will cease to exist."

"Why is this happening?" Her eyes started to fill with tears of anger and confusion. "The Akuto crisis is over!"

"We are born of the Akuto and to the Akuto we return."

"So Munto is dying?" Yumemi turned back to the mirror that continued to predict the young king's demise.

"The spirit is the force that allows us to take and maintain shape. If that willpower disappears, there is nothing to bind the Akuto to us."

"Can you see where his spirit is now?" She reached out to the pool, trying to brush her fingertips against the vision.

The prophetess frowned. "Somehow that is beyond my sight."

Yumemi blinked. Something that was beyond the power of Lady Ryueley? That was almost impossible.

The last time that happened was back in the throes of the Akuto crisis, when the Magical Kingdom was trying to open the future. The seer had sacrificed her physical sight to get one glimpse of a possible future that involved a girl from another place in time and space.

Her mind flew to a conclusion.

She leapt up and ran back across the courtyard, down the stairs and over to where everyone was still clustered around Munto's form.

"Sheza," she said, slightly breathless. "Stop your treatment."

Even though his eyes were filled with concern, the healer lowered his hands and the golden glow faded.

Mustering her resolve, she reached out to touch the place where Munto had been struck by the lighting from the space-time entity.

The black markings of space-time magic rippled over his skin and small sparks of blue light crackled, seeking to close the distance between his body and her hand. She pulled her hand back as the party began to clamor.

"What does this mean?"

"The Outsider magic!"

"Is that's what's causing Lord Munto's condition?"

"Everyone, quiet!" Her tone betraying her uncertainty. "I think Munto's spirit is trapped somewhere beyond our continuity."

Marty and Tail both exclaimed. "Then we can save him! We just need to get back his spirit!"

"Is it even possible?" Louie expressed his concern. "Our ancestors once possessed the knowledge for navigating the space-time void to other worlds, but those techniques have been long since lost to us."

"It may be difficult, but I am confident that I can make it to Munto." Yumemi felt courage welling up, fueled by the thought of her love in danger.

Each time she had pushed through space-time in the past, Munto had been the focal point. By focusing all of her energy on reaching that imperious, red-haired man, she had been able to overcome the impossible. Reaching his soul would not be hard, regardless of where he was trapped.

"But can you make it back?" Harka asked quietly.

Everyone fell silent.

The possibility of no return had not occurred to her and it chilled her. What if she was lost, fated to drift inside of the void between the different worlds? There was a chance that she might not even be able to survive in that environment. If she could not find Munto, then her existence would become one of solitude and loneliness.

This time, her world was safe. His world was safe. Their family, friends, and loved ones were all completely safe. The scale inside her heart was weighted only with the options of the possibly abandoning her life to save another, or risk losing him forever. If she did not return home, her mother, father, brother, Ichiko and Suzume would be devastated. If he did not return home, then she would be the one devastated, cut off from the person who she had begun to think of as the other half of her soul.

It was an impossible decision to make, but either way, time was running out.

Yumemi looked up into the worried faces of everyone gathered around her. Determination glinted in her eyes as she said, "I must believe that I can safely return with Munto. For if I do not believe, who will?"

She smiled defiantly, "I will bring him back, without fail."

* * *

Munto's first impression when he awoke was the silence. It pressed harshly on his ears and the air felt so heavy that it might smother him completely. The cold crept towards the edges of his being and he shivered.

He blearily opened his eyes and immediately gasped. The entire expanse of sky was a mottled combination of gray and black, with the all-too-familiar runes of space-time magic swirling, constantly expanding, shrinking, and shifting. He rose his hands to rub his eyes and froze.

Transparent and pale gold, like akuto, his hands and arms had no more substance to them than a ray of light. The rest of his body, if it could be called that, was just as insubstantial. He frantically turned round to get a bearing on his location, but he already knew that it made no difference.

"The void." He whispered. His spirit was trapped in the space beyond reality.

At these words, his limbs clamped tightly against his body, binding him into place. An alien voice burbled, cutting through the quiet.

"I see that you are awake, Munto."

The fallen king Gridori, last seen being forced into the void by the Outsider Gass, came into view. The nine months or so that he had spent in the void had not done anything to improve his unstable state.

His brown mask bubbled and gurgled with water, crowed with flaming red hair. Spreading from his head was a tangle of spindling, white branches and claws. Where his body had been more or less humanoid before his sojourn into the void, now his shape was even less definite. Limbs constantly cracked and creaked as they expanded and contracted, twisting, as if each had a mind of his own.

"Gridori." Munto ground out between gritted teeth. "You were behind the anomaly?"

"What anomaly?" The monster tilted what could be assumed to be a head. "Oh, you mean the portal?" He laughed. "No. The Outsider did that."

"Gass did?" This threw him into confusion. Why would Gass, who was on the side of the Magical Kingdom create such a thing?

As if reading his mind, the specter in front of him responded, "I doubt it was the Outsider's intention to leave the portal there. I think he would have been able to close it too, if I hadn't ended him."

Munto closed his eyes to hold back his sadness. He had mourned for the loss of Gass on the battlefield when the older man had sacrificed his life to trap Gridori in the void beyond their reality. Now that he himself was in that same void, there had been some glimmer of hope that Gass might have survived. That precious hope had been destroyed again.

But this was not the time to be grieving. He shook free from the despair, determined to find some way to get out. While he was in bonds, there was little he could do except keep the crazy king talking.

"How did you get me here? What did you do to me?"

"That fool, Gass, put a mark on you to send you through the space-time to get the girl, the Akuto giver. Your body is now receptive to the Outsider magic. I took advantage of this weakness to pull your spirit here."

When Gass punched the young ruler after he refused to seek Yumemi's aid for a second time, Munto had been sent forcefully through space and time to reach the Lower World. Apparently, there had been unforeseen consequences of Gass's actions.

"For what purpose?"

Gridori gave a harsh laugh. "Take your pick. This body is rapidly deteriorating under the space-time curse; I need a vacant body to occupy and yours is now empty. "

Munto felt his breath catch in his throat.

"I will take ownership of your form and with my new body, I will forge the future that should have been: the Heavenly beings in their rightful place as Lords and Masters over the Lower World."

An image of Yumemi flashed in the young man's mind: shacks around her wrists and ankles, harshly bruising her delicate skin, her eyes empty and her spirit broken - devoid of all hope and happiness.

"Ah, yes, and that girl. She will become a part of my plan." Gridori continued, ignoring the killing spirit being thrown in his direction. "You are a fool if you think that I will stop at one reality. There are thousands of worlds waiting to be reconquered and she will be the one to open the doors. Willing or otherwise."

"You will not touch her!" Munto strained against his invisible bonds, his wrath spilling out, making his spirit grow brighter. "I will not let you do this!"

"You will do nothing! You will spend the rest of your time here, where you can reflect on your own shortcomings."

Spiny fingers reached around and pricked into his head, piercing deeply, causing him to clench his jaw to stop himself from screaming. Gridori drew in close to the king's face.

"I have spent all this time planning my revenge, you cannot stop me."

The hundreds of needles in Munto's head throbbed, bringing on another wave of pain. Spots floated in front of his eyes, blinding his vision.

When the pain finally ebbed away, he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, as if viewed through a red liquid or glass. With a terrifying thought, he looked down and saw a mess of branch-like limbs. Twisting against his invisible ties, he tried to life an arm and confirmed what he feared to be the truth.

"Figured it out, have you?"

Meters away, a soft light surrounded the spiritual form of the Magical King. Munto watched as the person in his the golden, ghostly, version of his form flexed its muscles and then met his gaze with a smirk. "It is liberating to be free of that wrecked form."

Gridori made a wide sweeping gesture and a circle of soft light appeared.

Through the circle, the determined face of Yumemi shone through. Her arm was outstretched, green eyes glistening, her caramel hair blown back as she pushed through space-time void to rescue her love. Sweat started to form on her forehead in concentration as she continued to repel forces the size of planets to carve a new path into the void.

"Munto!" Her voice resonated in the empty space as her arm, bathed in a pale blue glow, broke into the dark space.

"Yumemi!" He attempted to scream in desperation, but no sound issued from his throat. Gridori had been careful to morph the figure before performing the transfusion. Even willing every fiber of his being to revert his vocal chords into working condition, there was no time and now Munto had no means to warn his important one of the pending danger.

"Yumemi!" Gridori called out to the unknowing girl in a cruel mockery of the precious endearments the lovers had exchanged only days ago. He then turned to face Munto one last time.

"Your father was a truly great and powerful leader. You are a mere shade in the shadow that he cast. Now I will be the one to pick up his mantle, while you languish away, little, pathetic, king."

With these words, he moved forward to grab Yumemi's hand. Munto screamed silently in anguish and rage as a brilliant white light filled through the space-time. When the light faded, he hurriedly looked around.

Gridori and Yumemi were gone.

He dropped his head in defeat.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you everyone for the thoughtful reviews and feedback! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter.

Special thanks to RedWingedAngel002 for the awesome review that pushed me in this direction!

 _Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release._


	5. Dark Future

**Chapter 5 - A Dark Future**

* * *

The intense emotional rush Gridori felt as he was pulled across space was pure and pristine. The young girl's feelings for Munto were brighter than any he had felt before. It was almost a pity that he would need to twist those affections into something darker, more malevolent, to achieve his goal. As he was moved into Munto's body, the sensations faded into the background and muffled voices came to the forefront.

It was an odd experience, waking up in a body that was not yet ravaged by the space-time curse. The all-too-familiar prickling was present in his side, but the rest of the muscle, bone, and tissue was lithe and limber. He opened his eyes and reveled in the precision and clarity in which he was able to see the worried faces of Munto's aides. He allowed his gaze to fall on the girl with the amber hair and emerald eyes. Putting on his best confused expression, he reached out to stroke her face.

"Yumemi." He murmured and was rewarded with a worried response.

"Munto. How are you feeling?" Concern was etched into every word. Her hand wrapped around his as it rested on her cheek.

This would be easy. He sat up, gently bringing her head in for a kiss.

The girl stiffened in surprise, but everyone around the table blushed, looked away, embarrassed. She relaxed after a moment, at which point Gridori released her.

"Thank you, Yumemi, for rescuing me."

She averted her eyes and used her hands to partially cover her red face. She stammered out some words, but the imposter king had no time to waste on pleasantries, now that he had won her over.

"Louie, call the leaders of the Heavens together, for I have news from the void." He swung his legs off the table and stood, drawing the girl to his side in a loose embrace.

"Of course, Munto. I will arrange it immediately." The blue-haired man seemed concerned. "What should I tell them? Is this about Gass?"

Slightly annoyed by the prying, Gridori kept his irritation in check. "Tell them that Lord Munto wishes to share some new information about our knowledge of the Outsider and the void. We can discuss the details later."

He looked down at the girl in his arms. "I do not want to cause unnecessary concern." He took her by the shoulders and looked into her trusting eyes. "Yumemi, you should go home for now. There is much we need to do here, but I will come to you later."

She smiled back at him, a little awkward after the open display of affection from earlier. "Of course." With that response, she gave a slight bow to everyone and went over to the silver winged creature that Gridori had seen before. She hopped on one of its large hands and the pair took off.

Good - she was out of the picture for a while.

"Louie." He commanded. "See that the meeting happens as soon as possible. It is crucial that we are able to discuss what I know before our next meeting with the representatives from the Lower World." He strode out of the courtyard with his right-hand man, healer, and retainers in tow.

Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Once the akuto doll was airborne, Yumemi whipped her head to look back at the courtyard, watching the group descend to the main part of the Magical Kingdom Palace, led by Munto.

Or at least the person who was pretending to be Munto.

She had known from the instant the gap to the void had closed, that the spirit was not his.

For a brief second, she had shared in this new creature's emotions before ripping Munto's ring from its finger, closing the emotional connection. There had been pitch black darkness whirling in this stranger's heart - even if the magical king's spirit had become irreparably corrupt in the void, Yumemi would never mistake her partner for someone else.

Frowning, she wiped at her mouth, trying to clear away the disgusting aftertaste of the imposter's kiss. That person was very dangerous - that much she could tell. Exposing them prematurely might bring terrible results: Munto's life could be held hostage at this very moment and any wrong step might lead to his death.

There were just too many unknowns. Too many options.

Her mind spun as she tried to think of her next step. Who could she tell?

The answer came to her and she smiled at herself for being so silly for not thinking of it before.

Minutes later, she was waiting on the roof of her school with the akuto doll, counting down the time for the students to be let out. There would be no point for her to return to class if she would only be distracted, so she patiently bided her time trying to keep her anxiety about Munto in check.

There was the bell! It did not take long to spot her friends in the throngs of middle-schoolers that came strolling out from the building.

"I hope that Yumemi is okay. She rushed out so quickly." Ichiko was pondering worriedly. "It better not have to do with that weirdo king!"

"Munto is weird, but I'm sure Yumemi is fine." Suzume gave a big smile.

"Suzume! Ichiko!" Yumemi called, urging the akuto doll to land by the school gates. She gave them a giant wave as Ichiko ran up, with Suzume trotting along behind. The rest of the students in the yard stood gawking as the bystanders in the building itself crowded the windows. There had been rumors, of course, but Yumemi's role in the appearance of the islands had been largely kept secret. The akuto doll was drawing a non-trivial amount of attention.

"Yumemi, what happened?" Ichiko asked. "Where did you go?"

She shook her head. "There's no time for that. We need to go somewhere we can talk." She offered her hands to assist her friends with climbing into the doll's arms.

"Yumemi!" Suzume called as the creature started to flap its wings. "We can go to Kazuya's place!"

Upon entering high school, Suzume's boyfriend convinced his partially estranged parents to let him live alone in his own apartment. The trio of girls would have no trouble explaining the akuto doll or the need for privacy to the second-year high schooler as Suzume generally told him everything about Munto, the Magical Kingdom, the other floating islands, and of course Yumemi's crush on the "red-haired alien".

Soon, the girls were outside the second floor of Kazuya's apartment complex. While Suzume rummaged through her bag for the spare key, Yumemi turned to address the akuto doll, which was curiously peering over the railing. She smiled and rubbed her hand against its claw which rested gently on the side wall. "I am sorry to ask this of you, but can you wait for us out here? I'm afraid you are too big to go inside."

It carefully withdrew its hand and took flight, landing in a nearby tree, much to the surprise of the flock of birds who were nestled there. It crouched on one of the branches, trying to look inconspicuous. Or as inconspicuous as a large, other-worldly lifeform can be while crouched in a tree.

"Ah!" Suzume had found the key.

One tea kettle, three cups, and some sugar cubes later, the girls were settled around the low table in the living room. In any other circumstances, Yumemi and Ichiko would have been Sherlock Holmes and Watson reborn, investigating the space where Suzume spent a fair amount of her time.

But given the situation, everyone was focused of Yumemi as she recounted how Munto had been hurt by a strange blobby thing from beyond their reality and that only today she had sensed he was in pain, which was a symptom of his spirit having been forced into the void.

"So he was sent to another world?" Ichiko was attempting to keep the details straight. "Is there any way to get him back?"

Yumemi sighed. "That is where it gets complicated."

Even Suzume sat up, riveted as Yumemi told the tale of how she had managed to find him in the void, but that someone else had managed to sneak back into his body.

"Munto is still out there, but I don't know what I can do to bring him back, especially since there is a different spirit inside his body." Yumemi hugged her knees and looked at her cold tea. "Last time I was able to use the space-time mark on his body as a sort of bridge to find him. I can't use that while the imposter is in control."

She laid her head down on her knees. "Even if I could find him, he doesn't have a body to come back to."

"We could stick him in a bottle, like a genie. Then you can rub the bottle to call him out!"

Ichiko looked at Suzume with boggled eyes. "And this is why everyone calls you 'childish' at school! We can't stick someone in a bottle." She gave Yumemi a meaningful look, expecting an affirmation of this opinion. "Am I right?"

But Yumemi had already moved beyond that train of thought. Excitedly, she reached into her school dress and pulled out her necklace, now with two rings on it.

"Hey, isn't that -" Both Ichiko and Suzume had watched as the tall 'red-haired alien' presented Yumemi with a ring as thanks for her service in saving the world. Neither had seen the second ring and Ichiko wasn't one to miss the details. "What is that? That isn't what I think it is, is it?"

"Congratulations, Yumemi! You're married too!" Yumemi smiled at her smaller friend.

In some respects, she couldn't correct her since the rings symbolized a promise to share her future with Munto - which in essence what Suzume and Kazuya had done several years ago when they crossed a river to help Kazuya open a new future. If crossing a river counted as getting 'married', then getting a pair of rings that allowed them to communicate mind-to-mind and heart-to-heart went way beyond a basic 'marriage'.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Everything in the Heavens was made from akuto, including Munto and the rings from his parents. There might be - there must be - some sort of link between Munto and the rings even if he was not wearing one. Just as his parents had poured their love and affection into bringing him into the world, some of those emotions, some fragments of akuto might be lingering around the rings.

Closing her eyes, she clutched the rings in the palm of her hand. Brow furrowed in concentration, green, blue, and golden lights started to sparkle around her clenched fist. A slight breeze started to pick up in the apartment as she carefully began to repel the forces of space-time once more.

She imagined herself as no more than a tiny fractal, traveling along the paths of light, cutting a winding way to where her king was.

What felt like hours must have only been a few minutes, but Yumemi found herself tiring rapidly. The strong thread leading the way became weak and frayed. She held on as long as she could, but the strain was too much and she dropped the rings on the table from exhaustion.

"Yumemi!" Her friends braced her before she fell face-first into the table and the tea cups.

She looked up at their hopeful faces and watched as their expressions turned to those of empathy and worry. The stress from maintaining her optimism wound tightly around her heart and became unbearable. Fighting back tears, she scrunched up her eyes.

"Munto, where are you?"

* * *

"As you can see, my fellow rulers, the time has come for us to take action."

Gridori stood at the head of a round table with the current heads of state from each of the Heavenly kingdoms. After only a mere hour, he had them all wrapped around his finger. A carefully woven tale about how the Outsider and Gridori were dead, but that his time in the void had allowed him to see what he could not before.

"The humans of the Lower World are suspicious of us. We are larger, stronger, faster, more intelligent, and we have a talent for manipulating akuto, which those humans cannot begin to comprehend. Those primitive beings will never trust us and these little talks we are having will fall apart soon enough." He gestured broadly to his fellow rulers. "We have tried everything in our power to demonstrate our good will, but still they attempt to sneak their military in our lands."

He smacked his hand down on the table. "Now is the time for us to strike. It is our responsibility - no, our right - to protect our lands from these barbarians. Are you with me, my brothers and sisters? Can I rely on you to help me defend what is ours?"

His audience erupted into applause and all the leaders stood to shake hands with him. Gridori basked in the glory of it all. Most of the leaders had been on the breaking point, tired of seemingly pointless meetings.

"I am so glad that you've finally come around. I was only attending those pitiful peace talks out of deference to your work in resolving the akuto crisis, but now I am relieved that you see what we do. I am more than happy to lend you my aid."

"Thank you all for your support. Please begin preparing your forces and the next time we meet to confer, we will be discussing war." Gridori finished that with a stoic flourish. "If you'll excuse me, I have some people to talk to." He walked out of the room, the hem of his black coat fluttering a little. Once he was out of his, he let the wholesome charisma drop from his face and he adopted a malevolent look.

"Munto."

Damn it all.

He brought back up his 'Munto' expression and turned to face Louie. "What is it?"

"Are you sure about what you are doing?" The blue-haired aide was Munto's right-hand man and was therefore the biggest threat to being exposed. "What happened to your goal of reconciliation? You know that if you attack the humans on the Lower World, you will hurt Yumemi."

This, of course, mattered not to Gridori since he was going to be using her to cut holes through the space-time. If shed a few tears, what did he care? But this good friend of Munto's was getting in the way.

"That is just a consequence of doing what is right. I will make sure that Yumemi is safe before the attacks begin."

Louie's mouth dropped and he frowned in the face of Gridori's arrogance. "What about her family? What about her friends?" He grabbed him by the collar. "You are not the Munto I know."

Their conversation had gone on long enough. There was planning to be done if the attack was set to go off in less than twenty-four hours. The pathetic fool in front of him was clearly not to be swayed, so Gridori let his mask drop.

"Congratulations, you've figured it out: I am not Munto." He smiled evilly as the realization slowly came over Louie's expression. "Such a pity that I must do this, since you are quite competent."

He brought back up his 'Munto face' and called out. "Guards! Guards!" Several men wearing armor and white robes ran up to the pair. "Detain this man! He has turned on me!"

The warriors came up behind Louie to capture his arms. The young man writhed, attempting to get loose as they pulled him away. "You will never get away with this!"

"Ah, but I already have." He murmured under his breath. He turned to face another guard. "Find those fools Marty, Tail. Get Harka and Sheza as well. Throw them in the dungeon too - they are all conspirators in the plot to overthrow me." The guard delivered a sharp bow and marched off.

There was a possibility that he could have swayed the two retainers and the healer, but none of them were decent enough fighters to make the effort. Now that the silly little blue man was imprisoned, they would only grow more leery of him. Well, they could all have a nice little chat from prison while he was taking over the world.

Gridori's thoughts turned to his next target. The Lady Ryuley was most likely aware of the games afoot and would require a special sort of persuasive argument to lend her special abilities to his cause. But he knew exactly what to do.

* * *

Ryuely stepped away from her mirror, having just seen the arrest of Louie. Her fears were now confirmed - Gridori had found some way to return and was threatening the future of not just the Heavens, but the Lower World as well.

"Toche." She turned to face the young boy. "I have a very important mission for you." She walked quickly to the edge of her courtyard to look down at the clouds that partially obscured the Lower World below.

"What is it, Lady Ryuely?" Toche was a very sensitive child, attuned to the emotions of those around him. No doubt he had already gleaned the gravity of the situation.

"I need you to fly down to Earth." Fear filled the boy's eyes, but he didn't protest. "You must find Yumemi. Tell her that Gridori has returned and that attack on the Lower World is imminent."

"Gridori?!" Toche started to panic and tears streamed down his face. "I can't go to the Lower World all by myself!"

The prophetess knelt down and gently embraced the small child. "Toche, you have a strong spirit and you will become a great man one day. If you do not go, then that future will close." His shaking calmed slightly and his sniffling quieted.

Voices made their way up to the courtyard and Ryuely knew their time was up. "You must go. Now." She gave him one last, reassuring hug. "You can do this, Toche."

The tiny Heavenly being squared his shoulders, wiped his face, and forced a confident smile on his face. "Yes, Ryuely-sama." He turned and ran for the edge of his world and leapt into space, diving down to find Yumemi.

With the last piece of hope speeding away, Lady Ryuely rose to her full height to meet with the Munto imposter head on. "Welcome, Gridori-san."

* * *

Munto was crushed.

Every second he remained trapped in Gridori's body and in the void was another second that Yumemi and the rest of his loved ones were in danger. Would they be able to spot the fake Munto? Possibly, especially with the help of Lady Ryuely, but by then it might already be too late.

To make matters worse, pain had started to creep along the edges of Gridori's body.

Before the fallen king had been exiled to the void, he had already consumed much akuto to change from his old self to the monstrous form that remained. Doing such an act was reckless and upset the natural balance of akuto within the body. The akuto was starting to dissipate in an effort to restore equilibrium and the space-time curse was still growing ever quickly; there was no time left.

Munto screamed in frustration, but without working vocal chords, nothing came out.

What should he do? What could he do?

As he pondered these questions, a sudden noise drew his attention.

"GRIDORI!" A deep voice yelled through the darkness and Munto only had seconds to bring up his arms to protect his core before a blast of time-space magic pushed him back.

Stunned, he looked around wildly, attempting to find the source of the attack. Then he found it.

A short distance away, floated the figure of a man with one arm, his dark skin made almost black by the numerous space-time runes glowing. It was a silhouette that Munto had seen every day of his life growing up and one he would recognize in a heartbeat.

Gass, the Outsider of old, master of all space-time magic and gate keeper to the void, raised his remaining arm once again to attack.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello everyone! As you can tell, the action is picking up with more on the way as Gridori continues his attempt at world domination! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews so far - they are definitely inspiring me to crunch this out!

 _Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release._


	6. Future Reunited

**Chapter 6 - Future Reunited**

* * *

For as long as I could remember, Gass had been a constant in my life. Ever since my parents returned to the Akuto in exchange for my continued existence, the Guardian of Time had visited the Magical Kingdom with regular frequency.

He was the Outsider to all of the countries in the Heavens, but for me he was almost a foster father, providing a guiding hand and stability as I took the throne. I took his presence for granted; without his support, I would never have been able to open our current future.

I was supremely happy to see him again, regardless of the circumstances.

* * *

"Gridori," Gass growled. Runes formed around his arm, creating larger and larger concentric magic circles. "I've finally found you. We end this today."

Munto was at a loss. Without a voice, how could he reveal that it was not the former king of Horguze, but the current ruler of the Magical Kingdom that stood before his old friend?

He wasn't given much time to think as he barely dodged the space-time magic hurled at him. Again and again, the relentless attacks came hard and fast. Then came one so powerful, he knew he wouldn't be able to clear the damage range in time. Instinctively, he held out his arm to cast a spell and swept it in a graceful arc.

No magic came out.

Curses! Gridori, being one of the Horguze, who specialized in magitech suits and machines, would not be able to cast a spell without a device or mechanism.

Munto turned his head to the side, waiting for the pending impact.

But none came.

"Munto?" Slightly confused, he refocused on his opponent to see the older man frozen in apparent shock. "I would recognize that spell casting stance anywhere. Is that really you?"

The young king did the only thing he could in the situation and nodded.

Gass swiftly floated over to him and placed a strong hand on his shoulder. "I am glad to see you, Munto."

He looked confused when Munto was unable to respond, so he closed his eyes and examined the body. He frowned in concentration as black runes floated around them as Munto's vocal chords shifted.

"There," he smiled crookedly. "No doubt you would be able to do a better job, but there is no akuto here, so this is the best that I can do with what magic I have left."

"Gass?" Munto croaked, trying out his new voice. "How are you here? I thought you had-"

"Died?" The former Outsider ran his hand through his short beard. "I confess it is a bit of surprise to me as well to find myself floating in the middle of the void, alone. But never mind that, how did this happen?" He gestured at Munto's current form.

"Gridori laid a trap. His spirit is currently in my body and I am in his." Munto explained. "Between the akuto imbalance from having morphed so many times during that last battle and the space-time curse burning along his body, I don't think I have much time."

"You might, you might not. It depends on how much he used the magic. Since I did not find him for all these months, who knows what he was up to." He adopted a stern look. "But let us not dwell on this; the top priority is returning you to your reality so you can return to your body."

"How do I do that?"

There was a pause. "I will teach you the secrets of the Outsider magic. Even with your body in its current state, you should be able to go back to your original realm and switch back to your real body."

He stopped, as if second guessing himself, but then decided to continue on. "Heed this warning, Munto: each time you use the power, you are at risk. Use it too much and you will break."

"None of that matters if I can save Yumemi." Munto brought his hands forward as he had seen Gass do in the past when spell-casting and turned his head expectantly towards his mentor. "Let's get started – there is no time to waste."

Gass smiled at the person he had watched grow from a boy into a man and then into a proper king. At some point, there was nothing to do but watch them leave the nest and fly.

"We will begin with the concept of negation."

* * *

"Repeat what I have said back to me."

Munto squared his shoulders. "The Outsider magic is based on space-time: there is negation – moving something rapidly through time, and replacement – moving something to another space. When moving between space-times, negation and replacement must be carefully balanced to ensure a clean connection."

"Good." Gass produced a small, relieved sigh. He had felt somewhat guilty leaving the Outsider powers to Munto when he took Gridori away, but now his masters' teachings had been passed on as well. "There are just a few more lessons left."

He moved to stand before the young king. "Only the Outsider can use time-space magic without consequence. The Outsider is the only one gifted in all of the Heavens with immunity to the space-time curse. Even as powerful as she is, your dear Yumemi will also feel the effects if she uses the space-time magic too much."

"But Gass," Munto offered a confused shrug, "you were the last Outsider. There are no others."

This statement was met with a knowing smile.

"Come, it is time." Gass drew him into a tight hug and murmured in a low voice.

"If I could have sired offspring, it is my sincerest wish is that they would be like you, Munto."

Suddenly it was like he was a small child again, having just lost his parents and desperately clinging on to anything within his reach. He was about to lose his precious father, again.

"Come with me, Gass," he threw out the plea, knowing what the response would be.

"I cannot do that. This body would not last the journey." The time guardian of old withdrew from the hug. "Besides, I must remain vigilant against any others who would misuse the magic in this dimension."

He indicated for Munto to begin the spell.

Solemnly and purposefully, Munto raised his hand and the familiar black ruins began to form magic rings around his forearm. A crack of blinding light appeared, the luminescence growing strong, brighter, and bigger until he was completely enveloped in its brilliance.

The light disappeared and Gass was left alone again.

"Safe travels, Outsider."

* * *

The sun was beginning to set when Yumemi awoke with her head in her arms, leaning against a table in a strange place. Initially confused, she slowly remembered being overwhelmed by the realization that she could not reach Munto. Ichiko and Suzume had comforted her and she had fallen into an exhausted sleep.

"I am glad to see you are awake." Kazuya was back from school, his voice breaking through her reminiscing. "I guess whatever it was that you were talking about was something serious because you all look tired out."

Slightly embarrassed from being caught sleeping at the table in the apartment of her best friend's boyfriend, Yumemi smiled apologetically. "Ah, well, I suppose it was."

Then the apartment started to tremble with mild tremors. The teacups on the table rattled and both of Yumemi's friends were shaken awake.

"What's happening?" Ichiko asked, getting to her feet unsteadily. "Is it an earthquake?"

Kazuya had dragged Suzume to his side, holding her close, preventing her from falling. The small girl smiled cheerfully as always. "There's something coming!"

No sooner had she said these words when a ball of glowing energy started to grow in the center of the room. Small black swirls started to form around the bright cortex, spiraling quickly and whipping the air around the room. Now the entire room was shaking, tossing small objects from shelves and tables.

The curling magic expanded suddenly and exploded into a brilliant display of fragmented, sparkling light. The four teenagers covered their eyes from the unexpected glare.

When the light had faded and the shaking had stopped, Yumemi opened her eyes.

In the middle of the floor was crouched a creature that she had seen several times in her nightmares. Fiery red hair, menacing white, branch-like limbs, and a terrifying brown mask with bubbling water behind it. This was the beast who had nearly killed Munto many months ago when Yumemi returned to the Heavens.

"What is that?" Ichiko asked in a combination of anger and fear. "Is that another one of those things - like that silver one we fly around on?"

It remained on the floor, just watching Yumemi intently. Somehow, she felt a connection, a timid gentleness radiating outward. The monster tentative raised a clawed hand, reaching out.

"Yumemi." It spoke in a gurgling, alien voice, but in that instant, she knew.

"Munto!" Without any hesitation she raced over to the stranger and wrapped her arms around its neck, opening her heart to him.

Pure, unadulterated joy flooded her mind as she relished in being connected to her special person again. He returned the happiness in kind, along with a profound relief, tinged with a little sadness. The two remained locked in an embrace, enjoying the reunion.

Through their connection, Yumemi could see all that had transgressed since their last meeting some days ago. The emptiness of the void, the madness of the fallen king, and the nefarious plot to plunder the other space-times once again all came clear into her mind.

Another face also wavered in her consciousness, one she had also not seen since the great battle nine months ago.

"Gass is alive?" She whispered. "Will he come back too?"

Her question was met with a sharp pang of sadness that filled Munto's heart and made her own ache in sympathy.

The voice behind the watery mask replied, "Coming back would have destroyed his body." He released a ragged breath. "He taught me about the Outsider magic. Once I return to my body, I might be able to find a way to pull him back over to this side."

Yumemi pulled pack slightly and ran her palm down the side of his face. It was strange – even though there were no distinguishing facial features, it was almost like she could see his pained expression, golden eyes filled with anguish at having lost his father figure again.

"The future is full with potential," she said smiling softly. "We will find a way."

Their moment was interrupted by a loud thump at the front door, followed by several frantic knockings.

"Yumemi-san! Are you there, Yumemi-san?"

"Toche?" The girl leapt to her feet and rushed to the door. Her friends stayed put, watching the weird person in the middle of the room, having yet to receive an explanation.

Sure enough, the little Heavenly being was collapsed in an exhausted heap right outside of Kazuya's apartment.

"What happened?" She asked as Kazuya helped to carry the young boy into the living room.

"AHHH!" Toche shouted. "Ryuely-sama was right! Gridori has returned!" He struggled in Kazuya's arms. "Yumemi-san, it is not safe here!"

"Toche!" She put delicate hands on his flailing limbs. "That is not Gridori. That is Munto."

"What?" With a look of pure confusion, he looked to confirmation. "Ryuely-sama said-"

"Do you doubt the great me?" The Gridori-Munto spoke in burbling tones. "Ryuely-sama is not mistaken. Gridori has returned and currently at the palace."

Yumemi confirmed. "He is posing as Munto so no one suspects."

Ichiko and Kazuya were dumbfounded by the recent turn of events. True to form, Suzume was able to cut through the muddled mess of the situation.

"So, Munto is here, but looks like Gridori and Gridori is at the palace, but looks like Munto!" She smiled broadly. "Nyan!"

Kazuya smiled fondly at his girlfriend as Ichiko rolled her eyes. "How can you possibly say 'Nyan' in this situation?"

Something dawned on Toche, but his expression immediately darkened. "I am not sure whether to be happy that Gridori is the one wearing Munto-sama's face or not."

"What has happened?" Munto asked seriously. "Why are you here?"

"It's terrible!"

Tripping over his words in an attempt to share all of the information as quickly as possible, Toche explained the dark events that had been taking place at the palace.

"He wants to what?" Ichiko asked incredulously. "Against all of humanity? Is he crazy?"

Yumemi tried to conceal how shaken she was. "What about the peace negotiations?"

"The attack will be in the next day or so." Toche's voice dropped. "If he's captured Ryuley-sama like the rest, then can he force her to see the future for him?" Timidly he looked to Munto. "Munto-sama, what can we do?"

The king was pensive and quiet. "No doubt if he has Louie and Ryuely, then he has most likely locked away the rest of my supporters." He tilted his head in thought. "It will be impossible to convince the other rulers that he is an imposter without them. We will rescue them and then go to the other rulers and stop the attack."

"Should we plan a diversion?" Kazuya asked, planning ahead. "If he has access to a seer, no doubt he will be able to foresee our actions. With a distraction, I think the plan has a better chance of success."

Yumemi could tell that Munto was secretly impressed with the high schooler – the two young men were barely apart in age, but there was no doubt in Munto's mind that he was significantly wiser. Even in light of the grave news, she resisted the urge to smile.

"I agree: a distraction is necessary to ensure that Gridori is not monitoring us as we attempt to free my comrades and convince the rest of the heads to call off the attack."

"I can do it." Surprised a little by her own confidence, Yumemi took a moment before continuing. "Gridori doesn't know that I know the truth. I can keep his attention while the rest of you rescue Louie and the others."

"No." Munto and Ichiko barked out in unison.

"You can't put yourself in harm's way like that." Ichiko rushed to her side. "You said he was dangerous, didn't you? You can't go in by yourself."

"There is no one else who can; he'll know if it's anyone else and the distraction won't work." Her voice gained a bit of strength. "I can protect myself and there is nothing that he can really do to me."

"Yumemi."

She turned to face Munto, who she could tell was in anguish and getting angry. "You don't know Gridori. I've seen his plans – he wants to use you to cut through time and space. He will squeeze every last bit of energy you have and he will destroy you." His fists clenched. "If you go, you are handing yourself on a silver platter."

"Even if he does something, the future is always open. We will find a way." She met his eyes with an inner courage she hardly knew she possessed. "I believe in our strength."

He took her in his arms carefully, as though she was made of glass. A sigh ran through his body, but she could tell he was resigned.

"Alright, let us find a way to keep our future open."

* * *

The plan was simple: Yumemi would fly with the akuto doll the way she had done in the past, locate Gridori, and keep him distracted. The rest of the rescue party would go directly to the other end of the floating island to free the other fighters and then head to wherever the leaders were congregating for the big battle.

"Ah, this will be a problem, won't it?" Kazuya asked sheepishly.

In the park outside of Kazuya's apartment, the rescue team had assembled. Yumemi was perched in the palm of the akuto doll, as planned. Munto was preparing to cast time-space magic to transport himself directly to his kingdom, as planned.

Ichiko, Suzume, and Kazuya clung to poor little Toche…not as planned.

"I can't carry you all!" Toche whimpered.

"Well, it's not as if he's going to help us." Ichiko jerked her thumb over at Munto. Before he could protest she dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Yes, yes, we know. You don't want to trust our lives to that space-time magic of yours."

"Ichiko!" Yumemi reprimanded sharply with her soft voice. "It really is dangerous. Munto is just worried about hurting you."

"Yeah, yeah." The tomboy frowned. "If only there was for me, Suzume, and Kazuya to get to the Magical Kingdom."

"You could fly on your own," Toche suggested. "I can do what we do for very small children – hold your hand for balance."

Suzume chimed in happily. "I want to fly!" She grinned up at Kazuya. "You want to fly too, right?"

"How do we do that?"

Munto and Yumemi tuned out Toche's explanation of converting akuto into physical force. The pair looked at their friends and then turned towards each other.

"Do you still have it?" He asked, a touch of uncertainty in his tone.

She smiled and pulled the necklace out from under her school uniform dress, dangling the two rings in the air between their bodies. Munto extended one of his white claws to gently poke at the ring that signified his place on the throne in the Magical Kingdom and of his place in Yumemi's heart.

"I wish that we could wear the rings, then I would know you were safe."

There was such regret in his voice that she couldn't help but offer him comforting words. "I will be safe. We have already gambled so much on this future – we cannot let everyone's efforts go to waste."

She took another look at her friends who were starting to levitate off the floor clumsily. It would be time to go soon. "We will be fine." Then she leaned forward and kissed his mask. "I love you, Munto."

Completely flabbergasted, he was silent for a short time until he slowly rested his mask against her forehead. "I love you too, Yumemi."

With those words spoken, they broke apart. Yumemi returned to the akuto doll and Munto put some distance between himself and everyone else. Toche held hands tightly with Suzume and Ichiko, with Kazuya clasping the hand of his girlfriend.

The small group lifted off the ground unsteadily, wobbling towards the sky. With much more finesse, the akuto doll started flapping its wings, lifting up Yumemi. A minute or so later, Munto painstakingly conjured the space-time energy to open a hole in front of him. He dropped in the circle and it closed as soon as he disappeared.

And so it began.

* * *

Assembling the New United Army and finalizing a plan of attack had not taken long, what with all the heads of the countries itching to do something about the upstart humans. Granted, convincing each of the rulers to fly their flag under that of the Magical Kingdom had required a bit of finesse, and there had been a few single dissenters, but nothing that Gridori could not deal with in cold blood.

In only a few short hours, the flagship of the Heavens would deploy, launching the first against the Lower World in centuries. There were no Outsiders or weakling kings getting in the way. Gridori smiled. He caught a glimpse of himself in one of the many glass panels in the palace and an evil version Munto looked back.

"Munto."

A young, female voice caught his attention and drew his focus away from his plans. He had to resist the urge to glower at the infernal girl child who apparently couldn't be trusted to stay away for more than a few hours.

"Yumemi," he extended his arm genteelly. "What brings you here?"

She blushed and glanced awkwardly at his arm, unsure whether to take it or not. Gridori almost rolled his eyes - such precious innocence made him sick to his stomach.

"I was about to visit you, as I promised." He lied through his teeth. "Did you miss me?"

Biting her lip, she looked about nervously, as though playing coy. But not quite - something was definitely amiss.

"Yumemi?" He repeated. "Is something wrong?" He touched her shoulder to bring her in close and for only a split second, there was a flash of fear, a touch of defiance.

She started and moved back a few paces, having realized her mistake.

There was no time for this - the attack was nigh and the New United Army would not move without the general. Unfortunately, this girl was too much trouble to lock up with the rest of the fools who supported Munto.

He dropped his kingly façade and moved in to grab her hair aggressively, yanking fistfuls of the golden strands. She shrieked slightly and her eyes watered in pain as he dragged her off the floor and up to his face. "I have somewhere I need to be; you'll just need to come with me, my dear." He threw out the term of endearment like a curse. "I had planned to keep you out of the way until I had conquered that pathetic little world, but it looks like there's been a change in plan."

Unceremoniously, he tossed her over his shoulder. The irate little twit kept kicking his back and yelling right against his ear. He shook her hard, forcing the air out of her lungs. "If you don't keep quiet, brat, I'll make sure your life is forfeit."

But her shrill voice continued to travel down the hall; he located the nearest room off the corridor, stormed in and threw her violently to the floor. She gasped, trying to catch her breath, shooting him a defiant look all the while.

He dropped down on one knee and grabbed the front of her dress, tearing it slightly in the process. With his other hand, he covered her eyes and forehead, tightly gripping her skull. "You will open all the doors for me."

"Your spirit must be very lonely." Her voice came through quiet, calm, and clear from behind his hand.

Gridori paused, startled by her strange composure. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

She continued, her words soft and serene. "It must have been very hard, living during the akuto crisis. The burden of leading a nation while everything is falling around you must have been terribly difficult."

"Be quiet!" A light blue light started to emit from his hand as he gripped harder.

The girl grimaced as he began his ministrations, yet she moved forward and pressed her hand against his chest. "It's alright now - the flow of akuto has returned and our worlds are finding a way to live peacefully. Everyone is safe. You don't need to carry the weight of that responsibility on your shoulders."

Her words were mesmerizing and Gridori found himself completely taken in, light under his hand fading. Why had he sought the power of the united army in the first place? Was it not because he felt that the fate of the Heavens could not be trusted to a young boy? If the akuto returned and the Heavens were safe, then was it really necessary to attack the humans-?

He glowered, snapping out of his trance. To think he had been bespelled by this witch! "You don't know what you are taking about. I seek power because it is my right as a Heavenly being. Humans and their ilk provide us with akuto energy - you are no more than cattle to us!"

The blue light intensified and the human whimpered as she slowly fell to his magic. After a few seconds, he released her and watched as she swayed slightly, her eyes unfocused.

"Your spirit…is in pain…but you…must…protect your spirit…for that…is…the first…step…" her voice trailed off as her eyes glazed over. Her arms felt to her sides as her face became emotionless.

Gridori looked at his handiwork.

In one hand, he held the New United Army, poised to attack the lowly human race. In the other hand, he had captured the power over time and space. He resisted the urge to laugh at the simplicity of it all.

Reaching out to caress the girl who was no more than a mindless doll. "Carve me a way to my future."

Sluggishly, she raised her arm as blue and black sparks shot from her fingertips. A wind flew around the room, blowing back her bangs. To Gridori's delight, within a few seconds, a small tear appeared in the space in front of them - not to the unfathomable darkness of the void, but to another space in another time.

"Good, my dear. Keep going."

A small imperceptible frown appeared on her face as sweat started to bead on her brow. Apparently using the raw space-time energy required much more energy than using spells. The small rip began to expand.

Rising to his feet, Gridori moved towards the door. The girl would be fine while everyone was away at battle. By the time he came back, she just might have created an opening large enough to let the army through.

As pleasant as the thought of capturing other worlds was, time was ticking and there was business to attend to in this world. His army was expecting its commander and who was he to ignore their desire?

He opened the door to let himself out, but his face suddenly exploded in pain.

Rubbing his cheek, he looked up at the insolent bastard who dared to punch the future leader of the world. He smirked at the sight of his arch-enemy, the true Munto, still crackling with space-time energy.

"I should have known that you would find a way back, you miserable fool."

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright everyone, we're in the home stretch - one chapter to go! This chapter was challenging to write, but I hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know what you think - I appreciate all of the wonderful feedback you've given so far.

See you next chapter!

 _Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release._


	7. A New Future

**Chapter 7: A New Future**

* * *

In all the years that I sat of the throne in the Magical Kingdom, not once had I questioned any decision I made, any judgement I had passed. Now, in a stranger's body, with my loved ones' lives on the line, I was unsure of everything.

This was a test of my courage, of my will, and of my strength. It would take everything I had to take down Gridori and bring peace back to the Heavens.

This was the thought running through my mind while we all risked ourselves to protect our future.

* * *

"What's our next step?" Ichiko whispered to Kazuya, who had been named de facto leader of the operation.

The four members of the rescue party were crouched in some bushes just beyond the entrance to the palace. Guards in white robes lined the walkway to the front doors, not a friendly countenance among them. Night had fallen and only the faint glow from some magical lanterns provided any sort of visibility.

The high-schooler assessed the situation. "We need to head to the dungeons as inconspicuously as possible." He addressed the youngest member of their group. "Are there any hidden or secret passages into the lower levels?"

Toche furrowed his brow, trying to remember any useful information. "I think there are supposed to be escape tunnels that run beneath the palace," he hesitated fearfully, "but those all empty out into the loading docks."

When Kazuya sighed, Ichiko grew impatient. "What's wrong with the loading docks? Can't we just go there and get into the tunnels?"

"No," he shook his head. "If we go to the docks, we'll risk being seen; that is where most of the battle vessels are currently stationed."

Shortly before arriving, the group had seen the amassed fleet, waiting orders on the edge of the Magical Kingdom. Ships in every shape and size were positioned for the attack that Toche promised would come before nightfall the next day. Traveling that route would make it difficult to go unnoticed.

"So, back to my original question - what is our next step?" Ichiko punched her fist into the ground. "This would be so much easier if we could teleport to where we need to go."

Toche and Kazuya looked at each other. "Toche, can you do something like that?"

The little Heavenly Being nodded seriously. "All trained magicians can."

"Could you go to the dungeons and let them out?"

Now he was sheepish. "I could get there, but I would get captured by the guards. I'm not trained in combat."

"Then could you take us with you?" Ichiko had joined in Kazuya's interrogation.

"Maybe the girls," he said and smiled apologetically, "but you are too big, Kazuya-san."

"Then that's it." Kazuya had made up his mind. "We'll do that then."

"What is?" Everyone drew in curiously as he started whispering out the directions.

A few minutes later they were ready to launch their infiltration strategy. Ichiko kneeled next to Toche, grabbing his hand a little too tightly and sweating just a bit. Suzume held onto his other hand, smiling blissfully like an idiot unaware.

"Just remember: when you get to the dungeons, have Louie and the others bring you to the main command ship. If this attack is really happening, we'll need everyone in that ship in order to call off the forces. Try to see if you can get in contact with Munto and Yumemi; tell them the same message. I'll try to scope out the situation ahead of time."

Kazuya bent down and kissed Suzume on the forehead. "You be careful, okay?"

She grinned in return. "Yes! Nyan!"

"Good." He met Toche's gaze and gave him a final nod. "They're in your hands, Toche. Good luck."

The boy closed his eyes and in a brief whirlwind of lightly colored magic, the trio had disappeared. Kazuya set out on his own mission to get closer to the heart of the operation against humanity.

* * *

With little more than a whisper on the air, Toche materialized with Suzume and Ichiko in tow.

"Toche-kun!"

"It's the princesses!"

Cries came from just beyond the bars of the cell where Marty and Tail were exclaiming at the sight of the new arrivals. Sheza and Harka both stood and moved towards the front of the prison cell, revealing a few more occupants.

"Ryuely-sama! Leica-sama!" Toche was now the one to exclaim. "You're in here too?"

The lady prophetess smiled serenely while the commander of the Ender army nodded. Apparently Gridori had been extremely thorough in capturing anyone who might have opposed his plans.

"Quiet. We don't have time." Louie commanded. He directed his attention to Toche. "What is the plan?"

Seeing the little magician was still catching his breath, Ichiko answered. "Yumemi has gone to distract the other guy – what's his name – Griddy?"

"Gridori!" Suzume chimed in.

"Yeah. Munto was supposed to meet us here, but I think he's probably gone to fight Grigory."

"Munto is here?" Louie banished any annoyance he felt at the competence of the 'princesses'. "What is his plan?"

Ichiko shrugged, "Like I said, the plan was to meet at the palace, rescue you guys, and then find a way to stop the attack. He's not here, so we're going to get you out and then meet up with Kazuya. He's scouting out the command ships."

"Excellent. Do you have the keys?"

"The what?" She paused.

"Do you have the keys?" He repeated carefully as though saying it slower would make a difference.

"Well, can't you just bust out using magic?"

Her question was met with ridiculing stares from everyone except Ryuely. Their faces clearly communicating the obvious: this is a prison cell, for magicians, who use magic…and you think we can use magic to get ourselves out?

This prompted some choice words on Ichiko's part.

As Louie, Leica, and Ichiko began bickering, with the more good natured folks watching helplessly from the sidelines, the lady Ryuely stood calmly. She gracefully glided over to the door of the prison cell and placed her hand upon the lock.

The arguments dropped off as the door to the prison swung open with a metallic creak. The prophetess extracted her hairpin from the lock and primly placed it back in her hair. She turned to face the group with an ageless tranquility.

"I will stay here with Toche as neither of us have much battle experience. I wish you the best of luck." She went to the back of the cell to sit on the wooden bench.

Not wanting to waste even a precious minute, all of the fighters recovered from the astonishment of having seen what they just seemed and streamed out of the dungeon cell.

"We need to get to the docks – Kazuya is waiting for us there. He's locating the master ship." Ichiko explained.

"Thank you, girls from the Lower World, for your help." Louie made to leave, but there was a tug on his sleeve.

"You're taking us with you." The taller girl insisted.

Louie weighed his options. Fight to the death with this girl whose stubborn attitude only rivaled his own, or drag her and her friend along to a fight that would almost certainly cause their death.

Either way, Munto and Yumemi would kill him.

* * *

Across the palace, Munto taunted Gridori as he pushed through the pair of doors he had just slammed open and sauntered into the room.

"You didn't think the great me would come back? You have grossly underestimated my powers."

He quickly peeked over Gridori, trying to see if Yumemi was here. He found her, seated on the floor, an arm held out in front. Arrayed before her was a giant hole in space-time, larger than he had ever seen.

Remembering Gass' warning about the consequences of using space-time magic, he took a second look at her. Her pale skin was an unhealthy pallor, edging closer to gray by the minute. Sweat plastered her limp and bedraggled bangs to her face. The hand held close to the gap was raw and blistered, as if she had been exposed to a great amount of heat.

She was dying.

Frantically, Munto lunged toward her. "Yumemi!"

Gridori fired a blast of red light in his direction, preventing further movement. "You will not interrupt my plans. She won't die, at least, not until she's finished opening my portal."

Fury filled Munto's mind and he let loose a yell. He summoned space-time magic in an instant, whipping off several large blasts in quick succession.

Each was a direct hit on his opponent, but he deflected all the damage with magic blasts of his own. Almost lazily, he swatted away the attacks as one might a small fly.

"Is that the best that you have?" The face of the king chuckled cruelly. "Even Gass had more of an impact than this."

Emotions still raw from his recent good-bye, Munto was unable to keep a calm head as the rage consumed him. Swinging his arms wildly, without purpose, flinging attack after attack.

But something was wrong.

Fire burned in his right arm, shearing and tearing at his flesh and muscles. He bit his tongue, trying to keep a scream from escaping his throat. He dropped to the floor and clutched at his arm as a pressure began to squeeze tightly.

"It seems my initial analysis was wrong - you are exactly like that fool, Gass."

Sparing a glance, the young king watched in horror as the black space-time magic swirled around his white, spindly, arm. His skin and bones unraveled into thin strips and then disappeared into nothing.

He shook from the aftershock of the great waves of pain that rushed over him only minutes ago. Grasping at the space his arm and hand had once occupied, he shuddered and tried to remember how to breathe.

Coughing brought him out of his pain-induced fog and he forced himself to come out of his curled position so he could see Yumemi.

She coughed again, spewing flecks of blood down the front of her torn school uniform, still at the mercy of the spell. "Yumemi…" he whispered, unable to call her name any louder.

Gridori clucked his tongue. "Tsk. That is rather unfortunate. I thought she would last longer than that." He looked at the hole, which was now large enough to fill the entire corner of the room. "Although, just a little bit more and that should be enough."

He walked over to the Munto and delivered a strong kick into the prone man's ribs. He pinned the young king onto the floor and sneered, only inches away from his face. He laughed as Munto feebly struggled against his weight.

Then there was a sharp prick in the back of his head, followed by the sensation of pulling, with a force that matched an ocean current. He watched in surprise and horror as a pale blue spirit began to emerge from his body.

Disengaging himself from the threat, he jumped back and growled. "You honestly thought that you would be able to use my own trick on me? You thought you could switch us back?"

"Not exactly." Munto chuckled, getting to his feet. "But that wasn't my goal to begin with."

He didn't have much time to ponder the meaning of this statement because a huge blast of time-space energy was suddenly lobbed in his direction.

Barely able to clear the blast radius, Gridori stumbled as a great, red gash appeared across his shoulder and chest. He pressed his hand to the wound and glared at Yumemi.

The teenager was standing and glowering at the imposter king, no longer held captive under his spell.

Curses. The fool must have used the spirit transfer as a means to break his concentration. His plan had been to free Yumemi from the start.

But no matter.

The space-time tear was now large enough to fit a significant number of forces. Now all he needed to do was launch an attack against the humans and then bring his army through the portal to do the same to other worlds.

With a sudden burst of speed, he jumped and flew out of the palace room, breaking wood, stone, and glass as he leapt into the night sky.

Yumemi and Munto stood frozen for a minute, simply overwhelmed by the turn of events. Then the spell was broken and they rushed into each other's arms. Both exhausted, they slid to the floor.

"You have to go after him," Yumemi said. "You have to stop the attack."

"I am not leaving you here," her king said, "you are on the verge of death."

"Look at yourself! You're missing an arm!"

"That's not the same thing!"

A few seconds of argumentative glares later, Yumemi released a small smile. "We're being silly, aren't we?"

She reached out and rubbed the alien mask that covered his face. "I believe that everything will be fine. You will stop Gridori. I will fix the space-time rip."

He shook his head. "You are at your limit - if you push yourself anymore, your body will fail."

"But we only reach our true potential when we are pushed beyond our limits. I believe that I will find the power to close the gap." She pushed him away gently. "That is why you must go now and stop Gridori."

"I understand." He got to his feet, carefully pulling her up with him. He paused when she wobbled, but she reclaimed her balance quickly and waved him away.

"Go. I will follow as soon as I am done."

She watched as Munto also took to the air, shooting out after Gridori. Then she turned her focus on the daunting task of repairing the tear in space and time.

Taking a deep breath, she prayed that she had enough left in her to close it.

* * *

It had been child's play to transport the expanded rescue party to the docks with magic teleportation, pairing off Ichiko with Louie, Suzume with Sheza, and Leica with Harka. Marty and Tail brought up the rear guard. Even taking down the guards that they accidentally stumbled upon when they appeared had gone without a hitch.

Kazuya had quickly identified the heart of the fleet: a giant, white, metal beast with smooth curves, clearly the prized Horguze flagship.

The ship was filled with Heavenly beings, their heights far exceeding the tallest of humans. However, all of the leaders had congregated on the main deck of the command ship. Sneaking onto the ship and into the hallway just outside the bridge had taken no more than a few minutes.

Now they needed a plan.

"I am against this idea." Kazuya frowned. "I don't think this is an effective way for us to get to the command console."

Much like before, the plan was simple: run out, take the leaders hostage, demand that everyone stand down, and thus preventing anyone from using the console to fire off the attack.

"Everyone in the Heavens are aware of the girls from the Day of the Future – friends of the Great Bringer of Akuto. They will not fire on them." Louie countered.

"Once the girls have the attention of the commanders, myself, Kazuya-san, Marty, Tail, Sheza, Harka, and Leica will arrest the movements of the leaders, thus preventing an attack."

Kazuya tallied all of the leaders in the room. "What about the elders? We have all of the rulers covered, but wouldn't the elder command potentially supersede that of the king?"

Leica rolled her eyes. "The elders won't do anything. They are cowardly men who appreciate battles that are fought from a distance."

"I could take them," Ichiko offered. "The little old guys in the corner shouldn't be too much trouble for me."

Louie shot her a skeptical look. "It is fine if you are merely part of the temporary distraction with Suzume-san."

"Excuse me?" Ichiko flashed him a dark frown.

"We cannot risk failure. Your actions might lead to one of the kings escaping. Even if one of the leaders is free, he can give the command to launch the attack. If that should happen, it would be the end."

"You think that I can't pull my own weight?" She crossed her arms.

"Quite frankly, no." Louie shot back.

"Just watch me!" Ichiko dashed out with a mighty yell. "AHHHHH!"

Suzume followed suit, jumping into the fray. "NYAAAAAAN!"

Kazuya shrugged apologetically at Louie and then raced towards his own target, the others right on his heels.

None of the Heavenly beings were prepared to see two small human girls charging towards them and they were slow to react. As Louie predicted, many stopped in their tracks when they realized that they were the chosen girls, friends of the Bringer of Akuto.

All of the fighters in their small party had no issue reaching their targets and threatening some level of bodily harm.

Louie reached his leader and then addressed the monitors at the command console. "Touch those controls and your leaders' lives are forfeit. Everyone in this room is to immediately stand down."

He looked around the room to verify that all of the leaders were incapacitated. With mild surprise he noted that Ichiko's hostage was a bit roughed up and it looked like a bruise was swelling up on his cheek. Typical non-magician, using excessive and unnecessary violence.

Mission accomplished. They had successfully prevented the attack against the Lower World.

All that remained was for Munto to finish off Gridori, wherever he was.

It was at that moment that the present king of the Magical Kingdom and the former king of Horguze crashed through the glass ceiling, throwing the entire bridge into chaos.

* * *

Closing the tear in time-space required much more effort than gouging the original hole. Yumemi struggled to coax the edges of the portal to close, bringing them together, inch by inch. The she had to hold them in place while she carefully tried to fuse, stitch, melt, and bind the raw edges of space and time

Every muscle was tense, straining to complete the impossible. Her body ached, her head pounded, but still pressed on.

The fate of not only her world, but of the other innocent worlds that would be caught in the backlash, were tied to whether she could finish this task.

But then, very gradually, the gap began to shrink. Minutes passed as the hole slowly closed.

Finally, there was only a tiny speck of light remaining. With one last push, Yumemi watched as that tiny light was swallowed by her reality.

She sagged onto the floor in relief; the gate was closed and the worlds were safe.

Then she heard the giant explosion.

"Munto," she whispered, a bit fearfully. She pulled herself off the floor and began a sloppy run, following the sounds of magical battle.

* * *

As the dust settled, the outlines of the two kings became clear: 'Munto', scraped and bruised, breathing hard, leaning against the command console and 'Gridori', missing an arm, with inky markings covering his entire body, a clearly exhausted, but standing strong.

"It's Gridori!" Similar exclamations of shock were being voiced across the room.

Except from Louie. He looked upon the monstrous white body, with the cracked brown mask, and red-orange hair. There was no mistaking the pride and honor in the creature's stance.

"Munto." The right-hand man nodded perfunctorily, waiting for orders.

"Louie." The king returned the gesture before turning back to the task at hand.

"Stand away from the controls!" Munto commanded. "Unless you have a wish to die."

The remaining airmen quickly hustled away from the controls until all that remained was Gridori.

"If you are planning to blow up this command console to prevent the attack, then you'll have to blow me up too." He smiled evilly. "But that's not something that you can do, can you, Munto?"

The young king hesitated.

"You need this body intact, otherwise you'll be trapped in that body forever." It seemed that Gridori had abandoned his need for secrecy. Across the room, people were coming to the realization that the Munto they had been following was actually an imposter.

The real Munto could see in Gridori's eyes that he had every intention of pushing the buttons to launch the attack before the tide of sentiment swung out of his favor. He had moments before a devastating attack would be fired on an unsuspecting world.

That could not be allowed to happen.

"I'm sorry, Yumemi," he murmured under his breath as he raised his arm with lighting speed, calling forth the black rune magic of space-time.

Leaning against a pylon for support, Yumemi staggered onto the bridge, just in time to see Munto fire the final shot against Gridori before crashing to the floor.

* * *

Time stopped.

Everyone had seemingly turned to stone, watching in shock and horror as the imposter king was stretched and torn into tiny pieces by the ravenous nature of space-time magic. The pieces became smaller and smaller until nothing remained.

Yumemi was the first to react, sprinting forward to try to catch Munto as he fell. She collapsed under the weight of his body and tumbled to the ground. Pulling herself onto her knees, she dragged his head into her lap, not having the strength to do anything more.

"Munto," she said, softly calling his name.

In only the slightest of movements, he tried to respond, forcibly pushing the air out of his lungs to form the words he wanted to say. But no words came.

Then his body tensed. She noticed the black bonds of space-time magic wrapping tightly around his legs, arm, and torso. Soon the magic would constrict so tightly that his limbs would be fragmented and transported into the void.

She blinked back tears and stroked his head, as though she could reach beyond the mask to his face, his actual face. This was not how it was supposed to end.

A sudden movement broke through her sadness.

Despite the extreme pain, Munto was shakily reaching towards her face. Confused, Yumemi remained still as he carefully grew one of the twig-like fingers toward her collarbone until it was hooked on something around her neck.

Dangling from the golden chain were their rings.

Words from the recent and distant past rang an echoed in her mind.

 _"Heavenly beings discarded their bodies years ago to make the consumption of akuto easier."  
"We absorb akuto and release pieces of akuto. In that way, we support each other."  
"The spirit is the force that allows us to take and maintain shape."  
"We are born of the Akuto."_

She gasped. Munto had already figured out the solution. How could she have not thought of that before?

There were only seconds left before this window would close. Munto's legs were already disappearing under the curse of the space-time magic.

With great haste, she jerked her necklace forward, breaking the chain. Fumbling, she shoved her ring on her left hand.

Next she grabbed his hand, and after only the briefest moment of hesitation, she grabbed one of Munto's claws and carefully slid his ring down to his knuckle.

Instantly, she was flooded with a blend of his emotions – pain, love, agony, relief, determination, courage, and calm.

She closed her eyes and in her mind, her pale blue spirit floated in the dark. Across from her, drifted Munto's golden soul. He radiated warmth and love as his form took her ethereal hand.

"I believe in you, Yumemi." He smiled, an expression that she had sorely missed since their ordeal began. "I have faith in your strength."

His spirit began to fade, but there was nothing to fear. All she needed to do was remember.

She remembered the first time that Munto had reached out to her, while she was walking to school. It had been so surprising to have a strange man in even stranger clothing demand her assistance.

She remembered his subsequent attempts to convince her to aid him: appearing over her bed while she had trouble sleeping, hailing her while on the way to school.

She remembered the day that she made up her mind to help – he had been lying defensively on a rock, on the edge of death as the golden akuto in his body dissolved and disintegrated.

She remembered the sadness and overwhelming loneliness as she witnessed visions of his youth, growing into a young king.

The memories flew hard and fast.

Falling into his arms for the first time that winter day at the amusement park. Walking up the leafy stairs in the palace. Being held against his chest as he confessed the sins of the heavens. Standing before him as he struggled to keep the tiny threads of light connecting their worlds open. Holding hands and creating a new future together.

The more she recalled, the stronger the emotions she felt through the ring. Akuto swirled around her, creating a comfortable warmth as she cast the magic. She could hear and feel the body in front of her shifting, but she didn't dare open her eyes.

She recalled the sensation of meeting him in the palace courtyard, the awkwardness of introducing him to her parents, the thrill of hearing the rap of his knuckles against her window before she was transported into the sky, the warmth of sharing their first kiss.

"Yumemi, look at me." Munto's voice coaxed her from the pool of feelings that were still running through her heart.

Carefully, as though waking from a dream, she opened her eyes.

Munto stood in front of her, perfectly healthy, perfectly normal. His red hair popped against his red jacket and tan skin, his golden eyes shining. He smiled and held up his hand, where his father's ring was situated snuggly around his finger.

"You did it, Yu-"

He was interrupted as she jumped up to trap him in a tight hug and brought her lips to meet his.

* * *

 **EPILOGUE - The Future They Opened**

* * *

It was just as the fall started in of my last year in middle school that the world was spared from a war that would have destroyed everything. That was when I came to know love and learned of the power that loving someone can grant you. Whether the love is for your family, your friends, or someone special just to you, that love can allow you to overcome even the impossible.

In the aftermath of Gridori's plot, there was much work to be done.

Munto brought the Heavenly countries that sought the ruin of humanity under rein. He worked with Louie and the others to continue reconciling with the human representatives. Over time, he began to forge alliances with some of the politicians and military commanders, with the dissenters becoming fewer by the day.

For myself there was a different sort of challenge - facing my high school entrance exams with Suzume and Ichiko. After months of studying and mock tests, we finally sat the exams and soon thereafter, safely made it into high school.

Some days were hard, when neither Munto nor I were able to accomplish our goals. Those days were dark and frustrating. Entire weeks passed by where we were not able to see each other, but we endured, each trying our best to reach for our dreams.

We let our love and hope carry us forward.

* * *

"Are you ready, Yumemi?" Munto stood resplendent in a black outfit, a white cape swirling around his shoulders, he red hair tossed around by the wind.

The young girl by his side looked up at him with a bit of an amused expression. She gestured to her own ornate clothing: a pale gown with a blue panel on the bodice and skirt, surrounded by a white cape of her. The wind tugged at the large white and gold cap on her head, threatening to fly away.

"Are you sure this was necessary?"

"You always should look your best when going into battle – even if that foe is nothing more than your own fear and uncertainty."

Munto reached down to clasp her hand tightly. His gold ring shone in the reddish light of the dawn. The matching ring on her hand also sparkled and reflected the sun's rays as the day slowly began.

"Then yes, I am ready."

The king's eyes glinted with determination and he looked behind them, to the slight and impish form of Irita, who stood anxiously with clasped hands. She gave a hopeful smile as he nodded to her. "I think it's time to bring him home."

Yumemi and Munto looked forward to the sky, clouds swirling between them and the still sleeping human world below. On the edge of the Magical Kingdom, they raised their entwined hands as one.

The familiar black swirl of space-time magic flowed around their arms, curling in the air with the fluidity of water, continuing the path on the future they opened.

 **THE END.**

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 **UPDATE 12/13/16:** This story continues with the one-shot "The Future They Explored".

 **A/N:** This story was an absolute pleasure to write and I am so glad that I was able to bring the characters of Munto to life once again.

I want to thank all of you who took the time to write reviews, which encouraged me so much during this process. Thank you for sticking with me until the end of this short story!

 _Update: This chapter has been edited with minor corrections since the initial release._


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